Pavan Patel Interviewed By WIDU 1600AM's Myron B. Pitts

Candidate Pavan Patel sits down with Myron B. Pitts to discuss making it past the primary, current events affecting Cumberland County today, and more in this riveting new conversation.

Pavan Finishes Top 3 In GOP Primary; Advances To The General Election!

Peter Pappas, Pavan Patel and Henry Tyson will advance to the Nov. 5 general election, where they will face three Democrats for seats on the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners, according to unofficial election results.

Three of the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners District 2 seats are on the ballot this year. One of those is currently held by first-term Democratic incumbent Toni Stewart. Commissioners Jimmy Keefe and Michael Boose, who also represent District 2, have terms expiring in December and did not seek reelection.  

According to unofficial results from the North Carolina Board of Elections, Tyson led the votes with 7,080 or 23.49% of the votes, followed by Pappas with 5,409 or 18.24%. Patel came in third with 4,538 or 15.05%.

The winners

Tyson is a realtor whose previous bid for Fayetteville City Council was unsuccessful in 2017.

Pappas, who owns a chain of delis and serves on the Fayetteville-Cumberland Human Relations Commission, unsuccessfully ran for the Fayetteville City Council District 6 seat in 2022.

Patel is CEO of Willow Group Investments and has served on the Cumberland County Tourism Development Authority, Fayetteville Millennial Advisory Commission and Methodist University Foundation Board.

New Independent Conservative PAC Aims to Improve Leadership in Fayetteville, School Board Races

Campaign season is in full effect, with local primaries on March 5, Super Tuesday, and early voting currently open. The newly formed Independent Conservative Alliance PAC is hoping the candidates they back will be pulling in some wins.

For those unfamiliar with what a PAC is, it is a political action committee that dedicates time, resources, and funding to candidates it feels will best represent the ideology of the committee. While many of the core members of the PAC are Republicans, the PAC’s focus is more on the conservative approach than Republican ideology.

“It’s not so much the issues, although the issues are important. It’s the approach that you take to solve the issues. Are you going to rely on the government to solve all your problems or are we going to empower people to solve their problems? Are going to be a welcoming county for businesses or make it hard for them to do work? Are we going to raise taxes because that's the easy road or are we going to look at places where we can save money in county government and keep from having to raise taxes? Are we going to talk about problems until the cows come home or are we going to do something about it?” said John Szoka, one of the core members of the PAC.

The Independent Conservative Alliance or ICA PAC was formed by the core members of former State Representative, business owner, and retired Army Lieutenant Colonel Officer, John Szoka, former Senator Meredith Wesley, former Fayetteville City Council member from 2007-2017 Bobby Hurst, and Jackie Taylor, former Cumberland County Chair. The objective of the ICA PAC is to “recruit the best candidates in winnable races for the local, county, and state offices.”

The Independent Conversative Alliance is looking for members, “local officials, businesspeople, and community leaders wanting to bring positive change and improve the quality of locally elected leaders and actively recruiting candidates.”

“I served on the executive board of the Republican party and in my position, I actually created the recruitment committee for candidates to run for political office,” said Hurst. “That was really why I joined: to use that as an opportunity to recruit the best candidates to serve in public services. Then I got this group together and people from various backgrounds that have served, that know what it takes to win a campaign and a great group of people. We were going to focus on the county commissioners' race and endorse candidates, who we thought would be the best three for the three seats. Realizing the Plan of Organization says that the Republican Party can’t endorse candidates in the primary, I thought it best to step down from the Executive Committee and just focus on this PAC, and that's what we've done…. That's kind of the beginning of it.”

ICA PAC established criteria based on 8 key factors for candidates looking to seek endorsement.

Candidates have been vetted.
Candidates are knowledgeable of the issues facing the county.
Financially sound and fundraising in place.
A good work ethic and positive attitude.
A good base of support with a campaign team of volunteers.
Organized campaign plan.
Thoroughly replied to interview questions.
Ready to start work on day one!

ICA PAC is currently focused on the county commissioner race and on Thursday, February 1st, they conducted interviews with 7 commissioner candidates. They chose three to endorse based on the criteria the PAC has set, Pavan Patel, Henry Tyson, and Peter Pappas. ICA PAC has plans to begin recruiting candidates for Cumberland County Board of Education races coming up this year (filing opens on July 5, 2024) and the Fayetteville City Council races in 2025. For more information on the Independent Conservative Alliance, you can reach out to member Bobby Hurst.

PAVAN PATEL: Cumberland County Board of Commissioners candidate

Office sought: Cumberland County Commissioners, District 2

Party affiliation: Republican

Lives: Fayetteville

Age: 33

Works: Business Owner, Commercial Real Estate Developer/Investor, and Tropical Smoothie Café Franchisee.

What’s your motivation for seeking office? 

What uniquely qualifies you to serve?

Fill in the blank: The top three issues in my municipality/district are ____, ____ and ____; and I would promote positive change by _____. 

The three most important issues for District 2 are quality of life concerns, that are currently undermined by 1) the lack of access to clean water; 2) need for access to quality healthcare; and 3) creation of valuable economic opportunities.

I will provide fiscally responsible leadership that keeps our goal on investing in our future. To create a high quality of life, we need to make sure that the fundamental pillars of our county are indestructible. We need to fund K-12 so that our future generations are being properly prepared, educators are not handcuffed by a lack of resources, and our school facilities are a priority investment. A strong education system ensures a fruitful future, increased economic value, and quality of life.

We need to hold the leadership, both private and public, accountable for the contamination of our surface water, ground water, and lack of infrastructure. Residents have already paid too high of a price, and I cannot morally ask them to burden the costs to clean this up this mess. This is common sense; without clean water, we have tainted crops, animals, and air. This is not just a problem for “down river,” this is a problem that effects more facets of our lives than we can imagine – and we need clean water to support our rural areas, farmers, businesses, and economic growth. We need to participate in the valuable growth that NC is experiencing, but we simply cannot attract investment without safe drinking water. This is a major factor affecting our quality of life.

Our county is growing rapidly with our healthcare educational programs - doctors, physicians assistants, therapists, nurses, paramedics. Additionally, we are on the way to our first medical school, this will be a major boom to our county and aid in advancing the access to quality healthcare. We need to ensure these healthcare providers that train here, stay and live here. If we have enough providers to care for our community, it will raise the quality of the ERs, urgent cares, mental health facilities – contributing to a strong quality of life.

These are core fundamental, common sense issues that need to be addressed with a long-term vision in mind. I can provide the leadership that will make the right investments to increase the quality of life for our residents today and generations to come.

What new policies or practices would you bring to your municipality/district that do not already exist? 

For more:

WIDU 1600 AM Interviews Candidate Pavan Patel

Rewatch Pavan's recent interview on WIDU 1600AM where he shares his thoughts on a number of prevalent issues facing Cumberland County today and how he plans to improve them if elected County Commissioner. 

Community Leader & Entrepreneur Pavan Patel Announces Run for Commissioner

Contact: Pavan Patel
Phone: 910-273-6864
Email: pavan@electpatelnc.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jan. 10, 2024

Fayetteville, N.C. – Local business owner and community leader Pavan Patel officially filed as a candidate in the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners District 2 race on Dec. 14, 2023, adding his name to a list of 11 other candidates. Patel’s campaign represents the first time he has run for political office, although he has served in various leadership capacities on multiple county, city, and nonprofit boards and committees.

In Patel’s official public announcement about filing–shared via a public post on his LinkedIn page–he stated, “As someone who has dedicated their career to fostering growth in the hospitality, healthcare, and real estate sectors, I am excited to share that I am expanding my professional journey into public service. I am announcing my candidacy for County Commissioner for District 2 in Cumberland County.”

Patel, 32 years of age, was born in New York City, but he has called Fayetteville, N.C. home for 28 years. A Terry Sanford High School graduate, Patel went on to earn his Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and then his Master of Business Administration from Babson’s F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business.

Patel’s goal was always to return home to his family and to Fayetteville, though, where he now shares a life with his spouse of 7 years, Dr. Amruta Bahekar, and his two beloved dogs, Mika and Copper.

Patel’s first official moves as a real estate professional occurred during his undergraduate years at UNC, when he purchased a rental property in Cumberland County and earned his brokerage license. Then, in 2013, Patel launched Willow Group Investments, where he serves as owner and CEO.

In addition to extensive leadership experience in the hospitality industry for Hilton and Marriott hotels, his real estate portfolio today includes ownership of five Tropical Smoothie Cafes in the region. He has created 100+ jobs for Cumberland County citizens over the years.

Two accomplishments that reflect Patel’s track record of servant leadership throughout his youth and professional years are earning the rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America program at approximately age 17 and being awarded The Fayetteville Observer’s 40 Under 40 distinction at age 30.

Patel has prioritized community service since he was a youth, but after returning to the Fayetteville area from UNC, he began to join and serve on several county, city, and nonprofit boards and committees.

In the past, Patel has served on the Methodist University Foundation Board, as chairman of the board for Spring Lake United, and on the Fayetteville Millennial Commission (now known as the Fayetteville NEXT Advisory Commission).

Patel also has served on the City of Fayetteville’s Zoning Commission for three years, and for the second consecutive year, he is serving as its chair.

Another role in the community Patel has taken on is as vice chair of the Cumberland County Tourism Development Authority, where he has been serving since 2016.

After joining the Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County’s board of trustees more than two years ago, Patel served on the CEO search committee, and he currently serves on the executive and strategic planning committees, as chair of the finance and public arts committees, and as the organization’s treasurer.

Lastly, Patel’s cultural heritage and community is a major priority to him and his family, and serving as president of the community group Southeastern North Carolina Asian Indian Association (SENCAIA) is a particular point of pride for him.

In looking ahead to the possibility of serving on the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners for District 2, Patel shares, “This role naturally aligns with my lifelong commitment to responsible servant leadership and sustainable community development, and I’m eager to bring a young entrepreneur’s talents to the table to continue investing in our county’s future.”

Any person interested in joining The Committee to Elect Pavan Patel as a campaign volunteer or donor is encouraged to reach out to Andrew Henrickson at andrew@electpatelnc.com or 910-273-7120.

Photos for Media Use