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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4 UCW MARCH 16 - 22, 2022 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Whoever said "politics is a circus" wasn't far from wrong. And every cir- cus has a ringmaster and a lion tamer that shout and crack their whips de- manding compliance from those they dominate. North Carolina's Governor Roy Cooper indeed fills both these positions in Raleigh's political circus. Cooper's recent, unprecedented and outlandish endorsement of former Fayetteville City Councilwoman Val Applewhite to challenge and unseat District 19 Democrat Senator Kirk deViere shocked both Republican and Democratic citizens. But, it's Cooper's circus. He is the ringmaster, and he calls all the shots. ere is little doubt that Cooper's action is retaliation toward deViere for working across the political aisles with Republicans on local and state- wide policies and initiatives. Initia- tives and policies that ultimately would benefit his District 19 constitu- ents and all the residents of North Carolina. In other words, deViere was doing his job. He was doing what the people of District 19 elected him to do. From these tasks and principles, he did not waver. Ringmaster Cooper punished deViere for not adhering to strict Democratic Party mandates, policies and philosophies. Cooper's actions are a near-perfect example of just how ruthless, corrupt and unfor- giving the game of politics can be at all levels. Sen. deViere and the Cumberland County delegation, Sen. Ben Clark, State Reps. John Szoka, Diane Wheatley, Billy Richardson, and Marvin Lucus all worked diligently and "across the aisle" to do every- thing they could for the citizens of Fayetteville and Cumberland County. e result was an unprecedented $413 million infusion into our com- munity to enhance our quality of life and positively impact our community for decades to come. In a recent phone conversation with Sen. deViere, I reminded him that "no good deed goes unpunished." In this writer's opinion, Cooper's endorsement of Applewhite indicates his circus may be on the verge of transforming into a zoo. is being the case, every citizen of Fayetteville and Cumberland County needs to be aware of the situation and know who's who in the zoo. I urge you to do your due diligence on each candidate. Learn who the candidates are, what they stand for, what they have accomplished or what they plan to accomplish if elected. One of the main reasons quality lead- ership has diminished in Fayetteville and Cumberland County during the last decade is because candidates have figured out how to be elected, but they have no knowledge of the office they are elected to or what is expected of them. eir lack of knowledge and experi- ence has created a significant deficit in our planning and future vision for the entire community. Over the years, Senator deViere and I have disagreed on many is- sues, but never has it been personal. I have always admired people with a solid work ethic who are not afraid to stand up and fight for their principles regardless of political affiliations. Hardcore and complex politics often make this difficult. Gov. Cooper and Val Applewhite have done very little for Fayetteville and Cumberland County citizens. Neither Cooper nor Applewhite con- tributed to bringing $413 million to our community. e upcoming elec- tions will be vital to the ultimate suc- cess of Fayetteville and Cumberland County. During this election period, everyone needs to be aware of who's who in the zoo. Our community has great potential, and collectively, we have identified faltering leadership in the mayor's office, city council and the county commission. We are the only ones who can change this, and we do not want to elect more of the same. Vote. But vote from a position of knowledge. Vote on the candidates based on their ability to serve our community with dignity, honor and integrity. Fayetteville and Cumberland County are wonder- ful communities with tremendous potential. We must elect honest and talented leaders who will take advan- tage of our assets and will not abuse the positions entrusted to them. I'll leave you with this. It's all up to us and not hard to do, Run the circus out of town, And you will disassemble the zoo! ank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly. (My apologies to Dr. Seuss.) STAFF PUBLISHER Bill Bowman Bill@upandcomingweekly.com OPERATIONS DIRECTOR Paulette Naylor accounting@upandcomingweekly.com EDITOR Emily Sussman editor@upandcomingweekly.com ASSISTANT EDITOR Hannah Lee assistanteditor@upandcomingweekly. com PRODUCTION MANAGER/ GRAPHIC DESIGNER Dylan Hooker art@upandcomingweekly.com STAFF WRITERS Alyson Hansen Ashley Shirley MARKETING ASSOCIATE Linda McAlister Brown linda@upandcomingweekly.com DISTRIBUTION MANAGER/SALES ADMINISTRATOR Laurel Handforth laurel@upandcomingweekly.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Margaret Dickson, Dr. Shanessa Fenner, Cynthia Ross, Dan DeBruler, Dallas Woodhouse, Ben Sessoms, Jessica May, Soni Martin COVER Designed by Dylan Hooker. –––––––––––- Up & Coming Weekly www.upandcomingweekly.com 208 Rowan St. P.O. Box 53461 Fayetteville, NC 28305 PHONE: 910-484-6200- FAX: 910-484-9218 Up & Coming Weekly is a "Quality of Life" publication with local features, news and information on what's happening in and around the Fayetteville/Cumberland County community. Up & Coming Weekly is published weekly on Wednesdays. Up & Coming Weekly welcomes manuscripts, photographs and artwork for publication consideration, but assumes no responsibility for them. We cannot accept responsibility for the return of unsolicited manuscripts or material. Opinions expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher. The publisher reserves the right to edit or reject copy submitted for publication. Up & Coming Weekly is free of charge and distributed at indoor and outdoor locations throughout Fayetteville, Fort Bragg, Pope Army Airfield, Hope Mills and Spring Lake. Readers are limited to one copy per person. © 2020 by F&B Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of editorial or advertisements without permission is strictly prohibited. Various ads with art graphics designed with elements from: vecteezy.com and freepik.com. 82 64 82 83 79 82 63 64 83 66 64 65 THU MAR 17 FRI MAR 18 SAT MAR 19 SUN MAR 20 MON MAR 21 TUE MAR 22 70 50 77 59 75 46 70 43 72 46 76 61 Partly Cloudy Partly Cloudy Partly Cloudy Partly Cloudy Sunny Showers Association of Community Publishers PUBLISHER'S PEN BILL BOWMAN, Publisher, UP & COMING WEEKLY. COMMENTS? BILL@upandcomingweekly.com. 910-484-6200. Part one: Who's who in the zoo — Governor Cooper by BILL BOWMAN Photo courtesy of Pexels.