Up & Coming Weekly

February 01, 2022

Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.

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6 UCW FEBRUARY 2 - 8, 2022 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM A new congressional seat in North Carolina is getting much attention from political hopefuls and resident politicians. Congressional District 4 will now encompass Cumberland County, Sampson County, Johnston County, most of Harnett County, and a section of Wayne County. Many Republican candidates have thrown their names into the hat, hop- ing to become the Representative for the new district. is past Saturday, the Cumberland County GOP hosted a forum for ten candidates to discuss crucial issues and introduce them- selves to voters in Fayetteville. Nine of the candidates were present, as Chris- tine Villaverde was unable to come due to a case of pneumonia; however, her campaign team was in attendance. Some of the issues discussed were national, such as opinions on federal- izing the elections, solving the prob- lem of illegal immigration, becoming energy independent, the security threat of China, and how the federal government can address the rising crime. Other questions were more individ- ualized, like which committees they would want to serve on and who they would support for a House Speaker. Michael Andriani Andriani is a newcomer to politics and was recently dismissed from the U.S. Army after refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Andriani was commissioned as an Army officer and graduated from the Virginia Military Institute with a degree in history. Andriani did not indicate who he would support for Speaker of the House but did throw out the sugges- tion it should be former President Donald Trump. He also did not list specific committees he wanted to work on. Andriani did say his priori- ties would be to defend the Constitu- tion and enforce the law. When it comes to being energy independent, he believes that the U.S. should look at multiple energy sources, particularly nuclear energy. DeVan Barbour Barbour, a native of Johnston Coun- ty, has worked as a delegate for the Republican National Convention, but this is his first time running for office. He co-founded Cornerstone Employ- ee Benefits and previously worked for Pierce Group Benefits. He is running a campaign as "one of the people." He says he is a conservative Repub- lican and wants to vote for conser- vative values. When it comes to the Speaker of the House, he says he will see who Trump endorses and would like to serve on the House Agriculture Committee or the House Armed Ser- vices Committee. While he is not a fan of federalizing elections, he says he wants to look into a national voter I.D. system and a federal ban on ballot drop-off boxes. He also believes that the border wall needs to be finished, and he would like to see an end to all catch-and- release programs. Rene Borghese Borghese worked for 31 years as a nurse and is currently the Director for Logistics of the Air Medical Program for Duke Life Flight. She says she de- cided to run for the first time because she wants to see conservative values return to the country. She would like to see streamlining in the government and create better communication between local/state governments and the federal govern- ment. For Speaker of the House, she says she will vote for someone who shows up and votes and not someone who makes behind-the-door deals with lobby groups. She would like to serve on the House Committee on Appro- priations and focus on healthcare due to her experience in that field. She said she would like America to be more independent with energy and economics and be less dependent on China. She raises concerns about outsourcing jobs and the purchasing of companies and their properties by China-owned companies. She says you can't put the cart before the horse for energy independence, which she believes President Joe Biden has done with shutting down the Keystone Pipeline. Bill Brewster Brewster is a veteran from Charlotte but now lives in this seat's area for his business. He previously ran in the 2020 election for the U.S. House North Carolina District 12 but was disquali- fied after not paying his filing fee. He also launched his 2022 campaign for District 13 before the new redistricting map was published. He says that the U.S. Government needs leadership with character, motivation and dedication. When asked about who he would support for Speaker of the House, he said it should be someone younger with vitality and not someone like Mitch McCon- nell - who currently serves in the U.S. Senate. He also stated that he would be interested in serving on the House Agriculture Committee and would like to work on a committee regarding business or one that helps veterans. When it comes to federalizing elec- tions, he said he would support a fed- eral voter I.D. law, but everything else should be left to the state to decide on election law. Tony Cowden Cowden is a veteran and business owner in Sampson County. He is new to the political world; this is the first elected seat he has run for. He says his decisions and core principles are based on the ten com- mandments, the constitution and constituents and announced that he would only serve four terms if he were to be elected. Cowden says he won't vote for someone who compromises with the left when choosing the next Speaker of the House. If elected, he says he would like to serve on the House Agriculture Committee, House Homeland Secu- rity Committee, or the House Armed Services Committee. He did bring up concerns over barracks living and how the House could improve the lives of service members. When it came to energy indepen- dence and illegal immigration, he believes America can resolve these two issues if the U.S. decides to invest more in our southern neighbors than Europe or the Middle East. He says we should focus on becoming a stronger hemisphere rather than worry about issues halfway across the globe. By investing in countries to our south, we could help support jobs that deter immigration to the U.S. Renee Ellmers Ellmers is no stranger to Cumberland County. She served as the U.S. Representative for District 2 from 2011 to 2017, when Cumberland County fell in District 2. She previ- ously served on the Energy and Com- merce Committee, House Agriculture Committee, the Foreign Affairs Com- mittee and the Small Business Com- mittee. She was endorsed by Trump in 2016. Ellmers says she doesn't want to name anyone at the moment for a possible Speaker of the House but says she will pay close attention to the per- son's staff and who they pick to work with them. She also said she is open to someone new who may be running in Cumberland County GOP hosts debate for new Congressional District 4 seat by HANNAH LEE Above : Candidates for the newly drawn Congressional District 4 answers questions in a GOP organized debate Jan. 29. Below: Boxes are lined up on a table to collect poll responses at the Congressional District 4 debate. (Photos by Linda McAlister.) NEWS

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