Community safety ranks among top priorities for Kevin Spears

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — There is a new face on Wilmington’s City Council.

Kevin Spears is a born and raised Wilmingtonian. He has been a community activist for the past several years and Wednesday night his activism landed him a seat on city council.

Margaret Haynes kept her seat, coming in as the top vote-getter with 6,549 votes. Spears received the second highest number of votes with 5,703. Incumbent Neil Anderson received 5,441 votes, just six more than incumbent Paul Lawler.

He says this speaks to the city’s need for change especially in community safety.

“That matters to everybody,” Spears said. “That’s the things that are tangible. We can create relationships, we can stir up enough activity and interaction in our communities to make sure that they’re safe.”

Spears emphasized the best way to help your community is to be actively involved. He took his involvement to the next level by running for city council.

“I’ve been an advocate and an activist for the past six or seven years, but that’s not policy-making,” he said. “I can change lives in that aspect, but I wanted to take it a step further.”