William V. Bell is an American politician and engineer who served as the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

of Durham, North Carolina. Formerly a senior engineer for IBM, Bell was first elected to the Durham County Board of Commissioners in 1972, where he served until 1994, and again from 1996 to 2000. He was the chairman of the Durham County Commissioners from 1982 to 1994. Bell was first elected mayor of Durham in 2001 and was subsequently re-elected seven more times. Bell is currently Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer o
UDI Community Development Corp.
a

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

. He is a member of the

Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition Everytown for Gun Safety is an American nonprofit organization which advocates for gun control and against gun violence. Everytown was created in 2013 when Mayors Against Illegal Guns and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America joined forc ...

, a

bi-partisan Bipartisanship, sometimes referred to as nonpartisanship, is a political situation, usually in the context of a two-party system (especially those of the United States and some other western countries), in which opposing political parties find co ...

group with a stated goal of "making the public safer by getting illegal guns off the streets." The Coalition was co-founded by

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Mayor

Thomas Menino Thomas Michael Menino (December 27, 1942 – October 30, 2014) was an American politician who served as the 53rd mayor of Boston, from 1993 to 2014. He was the city's longest-serving mayor. He was elected mayor in 1993 after first serving three ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

2007 Mayor Re-election Campaign

In 2007, Bell was challenged by Republican

Thomas Stith, III Thomas A. Stith III is a North Carolina political figure. Stith was a member of the city council of Durham, North Carolina from 1999 to 2007. More recently, he has served as Program Director for Economic Development at the University of North Carol ...

. Thomas Stith attacked Bell over several city issues including violence. During the weekend of October 13 and October 14, two people were murdered in Durham. On October 15, Bell tried to calm the public about the murders, claiming the city was safe and the weekend murders were not random. The next day, Stith went after Bell, pointing out that Durham's murder rate was up nearly 50 percent over the previous year. Stith and Bell continued to argue over how to deal with Durham crime. Stith consistently claimed that he would fight crime more consistently than Bell had, while Bell said that Stith had six years on the town council to do that. Stith said he wanted to see more police officers on the streets, while Bill Bell said the current police officers are well equipped. In late October 2007, after lead was found in Durham drinking water, Stith sent out a campaign mailer that said in bold letters: "Bill Bell knew and didn't tell us our water was dangerous to drink." Bell responded to this by saying, "That mailer sent out by Thomas Stith was a complete lie." Bell also said that Stith had no leadership experience. Bell was re-elected in the November 6, 2007 election, getting 58% of the vote as opposed to Stith's 42%.

Controversy

It was later revealed that Bell endorsed and donated money to now-disgraced, former district attorney

Mike Nifong Michael Byron Nifong (born September 14, 1950) is an American former attorney and convicted criminal. He served as the district attorney for Durham County, North Carolina until he was removed, disbarred, and jailed following court findings concer ...

during his reelection campaign surrounding the 2006 Duke University lacrosse case.

References

External links

Durham Bio: Mayor William V. Bell
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Bill County commissioners in North Carolina Mayors of Durham, North Carolina Durham, North Carolina City Council members African-American mayors in North Carolina Howard University alumni Polytechnic Institute of New York University alumni Living people 1941 births 21st-century American politicians African-American city council members in North Carolina 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American politicians

2007 Mayor Re-election Campaign

Controversy

See also

References

External links