When Fayetteville Mayor Molly Rawn was sworn into office on Jan. 2, she concluded her speech with “Let’s get to work.” From the perspectives of herself and several City Council members, she did exactly that.
Rawn was elected after winning a runoff election by 242 votes against incumbent Lioneld Jordan on Dec. 3. Jordan had served as mayor for 16 years. Rawn’s victory made her Fayetteville’s first female mayor since 1987.
Rawn said her transition into office was smooth due to the unwavering support of her family and her time spent as the CEO of Experience Fayetteville. She said her role as CEO prepared her for the leadership aspects of her newly elected office.
“I heard somewhere that culture eats strategy for breakfast,” Rawn said. “It’s paramount, being able to lead a team, listen to diverse viewpoints and make decisions that take into account multiple stakeholders.”
Rawn said she has made culture and communication her biggest priorities during her first three weeks in office. She said she is most proud of the relationships she has been able to form with her City Council members.
Sarah Moore, a council member of Ward 2, said there is incredible energy around the office and she feels encouraged.
“I’ve just heard such positive responses from people that have interacted with her and her staff so far in meetings,” Moore said.
D’Andre Jones, a council member of Ward 1, shares this enthusiasm. He said he is excited about what the future holds and he is eager to see how Rawn’s leadership will transform Fayetteville.
He added that Rawn’s strong desire for collaboration makes her innovative, citing her recent visit to Washington D.C., for the United States Conference of Mayors.
According to the conference website, the event allows mayors to advocate for the needs of their cities on a national scale and connect with one another.
Rawn is working to build connections with those outside of government as well. Throughout her campaign, Rawn spoke about her desire to strengthen the city’s connection with the University of Arkansas. She said she is looking forward to collaborating with Chancellor Charles F. Robinson.
“Dr. Robinson has already reached out to me, and we’ve already opened up that line of communication,” Rawn said. “I think having regular discussions at the leadership level is really key and something that I’ve not been satisfied with the level of.”
Other priorities for Rawn during her first term include tackling Fayetteville’s housing crisis, providing shelter for the unhoused population, lifting up small businesses and continuing social progress in the city.
According to Resolution 117-24, the Fayetteville City Council declared a housing crisis on April 2, 2024. Rawn has met with leaders from the city’s housing crisis task force to develop a plan to take on this issue, however, she said the housing crisis is not just one department’s job.
“I’ve pulled together a group of city staff, across development services, across engineering, across economic vitality to all talk and work together,” Rawn said.
She also said she looks forward to working with the city’s community resources division to create specific goals and timelines for addressing this complex issue.
“A lot of these past three weeks have been spent assembling a team and working together to share those priorities with our staff,” Rawn said.
Jones said he looks forward to working with Rawn to make Fayetteville more progressive in every sense of the word.
“I think that we sometimes can, or we have, rested on our laurels,” Jones said. “We can’t afford to do that.”
Rawn said a piece of progress made on her first day in office was the city moving to digital signatures. She said the workflow improvement and the way they have been able to modernize have been huge.
Moore expressed a push for progress as well.
“I want to be realistic, but I also want to swing for the fences,” Moore said. “I think that Mayor Rawn wants to do that too.”