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/1495364
4 UCW MARCH 22 - 28, 2023 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 Chayenne Burns Katrina Wilson CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Bill Kirby Jr., Rep. Richard Hudson, Pitt Dickey, Paul Armentano, David Vergun, Aubrette Reid, Callie Farmer MARKETING ASSOCIATE Linda McAlister linda@upandcomingweekly.com DISTRIBUTION MANAGER/SALES ADMINISTRATOR Paulette Naylor accounting@upandcomingweekly.com COVER Design by Isaiah Jones Image of Boyz II Men courtesy Community Concerts 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. Full Disclosure: I'm not a fan of City Councilman Mario Benavente. Over the years, his actions and behavior have defined his persona as a self- indulgent opportunist. Benavente is a remarkably intelligent and knowl- edgable young man, very capable of analyzing complex situations and articulating them along with com- mon sense solutions. Hopefully, he will use these God-given talents for the greater good of the Fayetteville community. I must give credit where credit is due. Benavente's recent comment about extending the City Council members terms to four years are right on the mark: "It's crucial that if we want to make such a drastic change to the way that this city operates that it once again goes to the vote of the people and should not rely simply on City Council to benefit themselves by changing the rules to give themselves more time." Journalist Bill Kirby, Jr. and former Councilman Ted Mohn both speak out about the prospect of chang- ing city elected officials' term limits along with the true intentions of Dis- trict 6 Councilman Derrick omp- son. I agree wholeheartedly with Ted Mohn's assessment of ompson in his comparison to the late honorable District 6 representative Bill Crisp. ompson definitely is no Bill Crisp. And, the same can be said of former District 6 representative Chris Davis, who also failed to live up to the reputation of Bill Crisp's dedication, commitment to duty, and concern for all of Fayetteville's residents. Both are extreme disappointments. Read on. Kirby and Mohn say it best. Enjoy. And, thanks for reading Up & Coming Weekly community newspaper. Bill Kirby Jr.: City councilman says change in term length is a decision for residents alone By Bill Kirby Jr. If a new Fayetteville City Council member cannot get up to speed on long-term strategic planning for the city, then that City Council member should not be on the council. But that's freshman Councilman Der- rick ompson's position in hoping to change council member terms from two years to staggered four-year terms. "I think it's crucial that if we want to make such a drastic change to the way that this city operates that it once again goes to the vote of the people and should not rely simply on City Council to benefit themselves by changing the rules to give themselves more time," says Mario Benavente, also a freshman councilman. And well said, councilman. Benavente has support from Kathy Keefe Jensen, who says her north Fayetteville residents are fine with two-year terms. e council, by vote of Mayor Mitch Colvin, Mayor Pro Tem Johnny Dawkins and council members D.J. Haire, Shakeyla Ingram, Courtney Banks-McLaughlin, Brenda McNair, Deno Hondros and ompson, has called for a public hearing in the council chamber on April 10 to hear how you feel about it. A chamber of 15 to 20 people speaking at a public hearing does not speak for this city, and neither does a mayor, a mayor pro tem and six council members. City residents esti- mated at 208,000 do, and the truth is less than three quarters of them even take the time to vote. • • • Councilman Derrick ompson says he is not a "politician" and only trying to save the city money and do what is best for the city when it comes to staggered, four-year council terms. Former council member Ted Mohn begs to differ, and the former mayor pro tem doesn't mince his words. Ted Mohn Begs to Differ "Derrick ompson is nothing like a Bill Crisp in D6," Mohn says in an email referencing the late District 6 councilman who served six two-year council terms before stepping down in 2017 because of declining health. "Derrick ompson appears simply as an arrogant, self-serving politi- cian. Bill Crisp was often quoted saying that while he was elected in District 6, his beat was the entire city of Fayetteville. Derrick ompson is a typical politician pandering to his specific council district. Derrick ompson's narrow-minded views of not wanting this on the ballot is a total disgrace to Bill Crisp's legacy." ose who agree with ompson, you can be assured, would beg to dif- fer with Mohn. William Crisp died at age 81 on July 28, 2021. Editor's note: Bill Kirby's column appeared on www.cityviewnc.com/ March 17. For background on the proposal to extend City Council term limits, read the article written by CityView Today's Ben Sessoms in the March 15 issue of Up & Coming Weekly or online at https://www. upandcomingweekly.com/local-news- briefs/9614-city-council-sets-public- hearing-on-extending-length-of-elec- tion-terms. PUBLISHER'S PEN Voters should decide length of terms by BILL BOWMAN e Fayetteville City Council is debating a proposal to change electoral terms from two years to staggered, four-year terms. From left are Derrick ompson , Shakeyla Ingram, D.J. Haire, Johnny Dawkins, Mayor Mitch Colvin, Kathy Jensen, Brenda McNair, Courtney Banks-McLaughlin,Mario Benavente and Deno Hondros. (Photo courtesy City of Fayetteville) BILL BOWMAN, Publisher. COMMENTS? BILL@upandcomin- gweekly.com. 910-484-6200.