To the North Carolina General Assembly, the Rocky Mount City Council, and the Citizens of Rocky Mount:

We, the registered voters, residents, and stakeholders of Rocky Mount, North Carolina, stand united to fiercely oppose any legislative attempt to abolish or alter our city’s historic Ward voting system.

Our Ward system is not a political bargaining chip. It was established in 1983 after a hard-fought, historic voting rights struggle to ensure that every single neighborhood in Rocky Mount has a direct voice at the table. Before the Ward system, a single, concentrated, affluent pocket of the region could sweep every seat on the City Council, leaving the rest of our community completely voiceless, unseen, and unrepresented.

Recently, outside political actors and an online campaign under the banner "The True Rocky Mount" launched a petition demanding that the General Assembly strip Rocky Mount of its neighborhood representation. Even worse, they are explicitly inviting residents of outside municipalities, including Nashville, Dortches, and Red Oak, to sign it and dictate how Rocky Mount governs itself.

We refuse to let outside forces dismantle our hard-won voting rights. We refuse to let our local neighborhoods be silenced.

Why We Must Protect the Ward System:
Neighborhood Representation Matters: The Ward system guarantees that no matter your zip code, your race, or your income, you have a neighbor sitting on the City Council who answers directly to your streets, your parks, and your family. Abolishing it means handing total control of the city to whoever has the biggest bank account to run a massive, city-wide campaign.

Rocky Mount Decides for Rocky Mount: We respect our neighbors in Nash County, but the electoral structure of Rocky Mount must be decided exclusively by the citizens who live, work, and pay taxes in Rocky Mount. Outside interference in our local elections is a direct threat to municipal self-determination.

Protecting Democratic Respect: The campaign attempting to tear down our system has publicly disparaged our community, calling local voters "uneducated" and "stupid" simply for exercising their democratic right to vote. We stand for a Rocky Mount that respects its citizens, values every voice, and protects the democratic process.

Fixing Budgets Doesn't Require Stripping Rights: Rising utility rates and infrastructure costs are regional challenges that require fiscal accountability and transparency. Destroying neighborhood voting rights does absolutely nothing to lower a utility bill; it only strips everyday citizens of the representation they need to fight for accountability.

Our Demand:
We call upon the North Carolina General Assembly to respect local democracy and reject any corporate or partisan push to alter Rocky Mount’s charter or eliminate our Ward boundaries. We call upon the citizens of Rocky Mount to stand up for their neighborhoods, reject outside interference, and refuse to sign away their hard-earned voice.

Keep our representation local. Protect our neighborhoods. Say NO to stripping our voting rights.