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.
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1482036
4 UCW OCTOBER 19 - 25, 2022 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM STAFF PUBLISHER Bill Bowman Bill@upandcomingweekly.com OPERATIONS DIRECTOR Paulette Naylor accounting@upandcomingweekly.com MANAGING EDITOR April Olsen editor@upandcomingweekly.com ASSISTANT EDITOR Hannah Lee assistanteditor@upandcomingweekly. com ART DIRECTOR Courtney Sapp-Scott art@upandcomingweekly.com GRAPHIC DESIGNER Isaiah Jones graphics@upandcomingweekly.com STAFF WRITERS Alyson Hansen Ashley Shirley Kathleen Ramsey Jason Brady Chayenne Burns Laura Browne Katrina Wilson Jyl Barlow INTERN R. Elgin Zeiber CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Nat Robertson, John Hood, Pitt Dickey. Jami McLaughlin, Michael Futch, Jason Brady, Dr. Shanessa Fenner, Dan Debruler COVER Design by Isaiah Jones Photos by Isaiah Jones MARKETING ASSOCIATE Linda McAlister linda@upandcomingweekly.com DISTRIBUTION MANAGER/SALES ADMINISTRATOR Laurel Handforth laurel@upandcomingweekly.com 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. 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. Association of Community Publishers Fayetteville residents will have an important opportunity when they go to the polls on Nov. 8 , or take advan- tage of early voting. e ballot will include a City Charter Amendment that will change the structure of the Fayetteville City Council from its cur- rent nine single-member districts to a combination of five single-member districts and four at-large seats. is change will ensure that ev- ery Fayetteville resident will have six council members reporting to them versus one and the mayor. at means if you have a problem, wheth- er it be with trash pickup or public safety, you will have six council mem- bers accountable to you at the ballot box. We all agree that we need more representation, not less. I had the honor to serve the City of Fayetteville as an at-large member, a district councilman and as mayor from 2013-2017. I served as a council member with both structures of gov- ernment. With those real-life experi- ences, I have seen the advantages and disadvantages of both models. ere is no question that having a combined model with both at-large and single-member districts provides the best opportunity for success for our city. Fayetteville competes against other major North Carolina cities for good jobs, economic investment and an enhanced quality of life. To be suc- cessful, we need to have the same tools and best practices that they use to lead their cities. Unfortunately, we find ourselves following behind these other cities as we spend excessive time dealing with district infighting and too little time on the key issues, and the big picture that prevent us from keeping pace with the rest of the state. Nine of the 12 largest cities in the state have at-large members as a part of their city council structure. Practi- cally all of the local governments in Cumberland County also include at-large members. ey include the Cumberland County Board of Com- missioners, the Cumberland County Board of Education, and the towns of Hope Mills and Spring Lake. None of these entities are considering the elimination of their current at-large seats because they see that a bal- anced approach — with both at-large and single-member districts — works best for them. e remaining five single-member districts will continue to provide at- tention to district issues. e target population of around 42,000 resi- dents for each of the five districts is far lower than the Cumberland Coun- ty Board of Commissioner districts with an average target population of 64,500 or the Cumberland County School Board with an average of 55,760 residents. Fayetteville residents will no longer have to live in gerrymandered dis- tricts where City Council members choose their own voters. is results in numerous neighborhoods and even voting precincts being split in order to promote incumbent protec- tion, fostering civic disengagement and voter apathy. Quite honestly, it's confusing for everyone almost every time we have the opportunity to go to the polls. Equally important is the fact that there would be a balance on the City Council with half (5) of the council members also charged with look- ing at the big picture and addressing city-wide issues that continue to hold us back, because they don't get the attention needed, at the urgency we need. Successful candidates for the at- large seats will have to spend time educating themselves about the en- tire city, not just one of the districts. ey will also be directly account- able to every Fayetteville resident at the next election. is accountability is sorely needed in our current City Council structure! To be competitive, Fayetteville needs a structure of government that allows us to compete with the other major cities in North Carolina. e Vote Yes Charter Amendment will provide you more voice and more representation on the City Council. I encourage you to join with me and Vote Yes on the City Charter Amendment on Nov. 8. Editor's Note: Nat Robertson is a former Mayor of Fayetteville (2013 to 2017). He also served as an at-large council member from 1989 to 1995, and the District 5 representative from 1999 to 2001. PUBLISHER'S PEN City Charter Amendment gives more representation by NAT ROBERTSON NAT ROBERTSON. COMMENTS? Editor@upandcomingweekly.com. 910-484-6200 Photo courtesy of Pexels.