Stith's pledges to combat crime and waste in city government won him the endorsement, Friends President David Smith said.

"I think the community's been lulled into a sort of numbness about crime," Smith said. Stith's "really out there saying, 'No, any murder is a murder too many.' "

Smith also pointed to high-profile and costly mistakes committed by city employees, including the fire at the yard-waste dump, which cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Smith agreed with Stith that more should have been done to punish those responsible.

The group will also encourage its members to vote for a $207.1 million county bond package that would include funding for school construction and refurbishment, the Museum of Life and Science, and Durham Technical Community College. In addition, the the group backs a $20 million city bond proposal that would be used largely to repave crumbling roads.