MANSFELD — No names will appear on the Democratic Party ballot May 2 to represent the Fourth Ward on Mansfield City Council.
But two candidates are hopeful that voters will write their names in to lead the ward on the city’s north side.
Incumbent Alomar Davenport seeks his second term on council. He is tasked with seeking re-election as a write-in candidate during the primary after initially pulling his petitions before the filing deadline.
Cynthia Daley is a political newcomer making her first run for public office since moving to Mansfield 18 years ago.
A write-in candidate must receive at least 25 votes in the primary to advance to November’s general election. In this instance, the winner will be the candidate who gets the most write-in votes, assuming each receives at least 25.
A member of Mansfield City Council is paid $8,477 annually, according to the finance office.
The winner of the May 2 Democratic Party primary will face Republican Harold Wayman in the November general election.
Wayman is unopposed in the GOP primary.
Davenport won election in 2019 after beating long-time incumbent Walden “Butch” Jefferson in the primary, 188-149. He then beat two write-in candidates in the general election, receiving 572 votes.
Voter turnout in the 4th Ward in the general election was just 17.8 percent in 2019 with 848 of 4,749 registered voters participating.
Here is a look at both 4th Ward candidates and issues they believe are important to the ward and the city.
Cynthia Daley
Daley, a 56-year-old resident of 132 N. Benton St., is an accountant at Healing Arts Counseling Center in Mansfield, a behavioral health and wellness organization.
She earned a bachelor of business administration in accounting and finance in 1994 from the University of Technology in Jamaica and a master’s degree in human resource management in 2000 from Nova Southeastern University in Florida.
Daley immigrated to the United States from Jamaica in 2000 with her three children, moving to Georgia to be with her husband. The family moved to Mansfield in 2005 when the children were 14, 10 and 4 years of age.
“I was a stay-at-home mom while my husband worked as the general manager of a Popeyes in Ashland. I am happy to say the kids are all working and pursuing their own careers and they grew up in the Fourth Ward,” Daley said.
Daley said she has always believed in volunteering in the community. She is now the treasurer of the Mansfield Unit of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the finance assistant at the New Beginning Full Gospel Church, a board member for the North End Community Improvement Collaborative (NECIC).
Daley said she is also one of the founders of the Welcome Community Garden at the corner of South Benton Street and Marion Avenue.
“I have always been an avid volunteer,” Daley said. “I started with the Raemelton Therapeutic Equestrian Center, then the Mansfield Library, NECIC, the Salvation Army’s Thanksgiving giveaways, St. Peter’s Feed the Needy program and later the community garden.”
If elected, Daley said she will focus on reduction of gun violence, assisting elderly “to make their homes as comfortable as possible” and reducing littering and illegal dumping.
To reduce gun violence, Daley said she would work to “encourage and educate” young people how to acquire a trade through apprenticeship or other job training.
“I am heartbroken by the recent gun violence in Mansfield that has taken too many young lives,” she said. “The youth need to find a productive way of using their time and skills to uplift themselves and the community (as) a whole.”
She said she would “research ways” to get funding to assist elders repairing their homes and form teams to help expand “dumpster days” in the community to reduce littering and dumping.
“The seniors are living on a fixed income and many are not able to maintain their lifestyle they would like to because of the cost of home repair, food and healthcare are too high,” she said.
“Now it’s our turn to make their senior years more comfortable. We can only do this if we work as a team.”
She said she wants to hear from Fourth Ward residents if elected.
“I want to promote open communication with my constituents so that issues and concerns can be handled proactively before they become larger problems,” Daley said.
Alomar Davenport
Davenport, in the final year of his first four-year term in office, filed petitions to run for re-election on the morning of Feb. 1, the final day to have names on the ballot.
But the 45-year-old, 575 Stocking Ave. resident withdrew the petitions that afternoon, saying family concerns made his local political future uncertain.
At the time, Davenport said his 6-year-old son lives in New Jersey and he splits time between here and there. He said his decision to file and then withdraw his petitions reflected his indecision.
He worked through those issues in the three weeks that followed and made the decision to run as a write-in candidate.
“It was all about creating a plan that works best for everyone involved — my constituents, my son and my family,” Davenport said at the time. “It was about meeting with my family and creating a plan that works best for everyone and allows me to be in two places at one time.
“I feel like I have a lot of unfinished business to do (on council),” Davenport said. “And I feel like my son is watching me. My decision to be active in the community is a good example to him of what he needs to do when he grows up.”
Davenport, who has served as chair of council’s finance committee and public affairs committee since January 2022, earned a bachelor’s degree in public affairs from Baruch College in New York City.
He said his primary issues, if re-elected, would be:
— improve the economic viability of the ward by creating a special improvement district along Bowman Street to spark opportunity for outside funding.
— make homeowners aware of block grant funding for needed home repairs and improvements.
— work with the city’s Codes and Permits department and organizations like the NECIC to remove blight in the ward.
He said his education in public affairs has helped him in his role of local lawmaker, along with his work as a policy analyst and also a sales analyst for T-Mobile.
Davenport said he has “become a respected and heard voice within City Council meetings,” which has allowed him to come up with creative ways to provide resources for people and organizations in the Fourth Ward.
He said he returned to Mansfield four years ago to use what he had learned elsewhere to become an asset to the community in which he grew up.
“Over the past three years, I believe I have served the people of the Fourth Ward to the best of my ability,” he said. “I believe we have accomplished a fair amount over the past three years, however the job is not finished.
“Creating a special improvement district in the area where NECIC will be building (a new community center) will be crucial to the future economic success of the area.”
