1st-term incumbent squares off with newcomer in Warner Robins mayoral race

Warner Robins voters head to the polls Tuesday to choose between first-term incumbent LaRhonda Patrick and political newcomer Fabian Velazquez to serve as mayor for the next four years.

Polling places are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day.

Patrick, 42, a former Fort Valley city attorney with a background in corporate, government procurement and municipal law, is the first Black person, first elected woman and the youngest person to serve as mayor in the city’s history. Her father’s U.S. Air Force career brought her family to Warner Robins when she was in middle school.

“I just want to finish what we started and do my part in helping elevate Warner Robins, and I need one more term to do it,” Patrick said in a sit-down interview with The Telegraph.

Velazquez, 24, owns his own landscaping company servicing about 130 properties. Born in Perry, he grew up in Warner Robins. If elected mayor, he would make history as the first Hispanic and youngest person to serve as mayor.

“My love for this city compels me to run for mayor,” Velazquez stated on his campaign website.

Velazquez was not available for a sit down or telephone interview with The Telegraph for this article. His schedule was full, according to his publicist, Kike Fuentes.

Here’s a look at the issues in the mayoral race

Both Patrick and Velazquez outlined their campaign platforms on their election websites.

Patrick’s current initiatives include redevelopment of the downtown district, workforce housing and combating homelessness.

Her accomplishments as mayor include initiating Operation Reawaken, a vision for a live-work-play district for retail, dining, green spaces and residential options.

Other achievements include acquiring land for a Vietnam Veterans Memorial, a new STEM center, the city receiving recognition as an International Smart City, “significant raises” for all city employees, and the Haven Hope House homeless shelter.

Velazquez identified core issues of safer neighborhoods, more middle class housing and a vibrant north side of town, with the ways he’d work to accomplish those goals also outlined on his campaign website.

Under safer neighborhoods, for example, Velazquez lists several initiatives, including identifying the most violent offenders and gangs and “making gang activity known to the public.”

Other initiatives include increasing police presence in high crime areas based on crime mapping data; moving away from “the standard practice” of police trying to write more tickets; expanding the use of CCTV cameras and license plate readers in commercial zones to track criminal movement; and raising the starting pay of police officers to offset staffing shortages.

More from The Telegraph’s interview with Patrick

In the Telegraph interview, Patrick singled out downtown redevelopment through Operation Reawaken as the No. 1 initiative that she’d like to carry on if reelected.

“To be a part with council to see this come through to fruition is important to me,” Patrick said. “So, I really look forward to us getting these design standards complete, getting our request for proposal out for a master developer … to show what investment they’ll put inside our community with their own money, and actually get the dirt moving, the groundbreaking done and seeing those buildings erect to doing our first ribbon cutting at Commercial Circle.

“So I really want to see that one through. I feel like … if I don’t get a second term to see it through, then that dream will die,” she said.

Among her accomplishments, Patrick identified the Haven Hope House as the one close to her heart.

“The one I’m most proud of that we’ve actually gotten to the finish line is Haven Hope House, the initiative that we’ve done to try to help resolve some of the homelessness in our community,” Patrick said.

“You know, we can’t get rid of it 100% but at least we’re doing something to try to invest in people that want to transform their lives and helping them get a hand up to do so,” she said.

Controversy on the campaign trail

In a public debate Sept. 18 at the Winning Church in Warner Robins, Patrick and Velazquez clashed multiple times with stark differences in their visions for the city.

In one exchange, Velazquez said he’s not seen a single plan for the revitalization of the north side of town during the last four years. Patrick responded that most of her initiatives have been on the north side of town.

In the interview, Patrick listed several initiatives on the north side of town, including the STEM center at the North Houston Sports Complex, the Haven Hope House on Green Street, and grant funding for those without insurance for care at First Choice Primary Care on Green Street.

The debate is available for viewing on YouTube.

Also during the campaign, Velazquez came under scrutiny for making comments about homelessness that included, “a lot of people are homeless by choice,” and “you need to have compassion for the right people,” made in relation to the Haven Hope House on a “Soul Fresh” podcast.

In an interview with Macon’s WGXA-TV, Velazquez clarrified his comments in response to the backlash.

“You can take one clip and out of an hour and 30-minute-long conversation and make it seem however you want it,” Velazquez told WGXA-TV. “To see the full interview would be to get the full context of it.”

The “Soul Fresh” podcast can be viewed on YouTube.

When asked about Velazquez’s comments related to homelessness on the podcast, Patrick said, “Of course, I disagree with that 100%. I don’t think when you’re in government that you have the right to say that you will only help the — and I quote — ‘the right people.’ Your job is to help the public at large and whomever those are.”

Patrick also noted that people have different opinions on homelessness.

“Some people choose to walk by blind and not see a human in need of help,” Patrick said. “I believe that individuals who find themselves homeless, it’s not something they said, ‘I want to be homeless today,’ or ‘I want to do things that lead me to homelessness.’ I believe it’s a journey based on a path that somebody takes that has led them to being homeless.

“Some individuals who are homeless, they want to remain homeless,” Patrick continued. “They don’t want to get help, and the homeless individuals will tell you that themselves. And that’s a fact. Some people want to get help and some people don’t. At the end of the day, we want to help those who want to get help.”

In a run-off election Nov. 30, 2021, Patrick defeated two-term incumbent Randy Toms to win the mayor’s seat in her first run for office by 325 votes, garnering 51.85% of the total votes cast.