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/847636
4 UCW JULY 12-18, 2017 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM PUBLISHER'S PEN STAFF PUBLISHER Bill Bowman Bill@upandcomingweekly.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER/EDITOR Stephanie Crider editor@upandcomingweekly.com ASSISTANT EDITOR Leslie Pyo leslie@upandcomingweekly.com SENIOR REPORTER Jeff Thompson news@upandcomingweekly.com SENIOR SPORTS EDITOR Earl Vaughan Jr. GRAPHIC DESIGNER Elizabeth Long art@upandcomingweekly.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS D.G. Martin, Pitt Dickey, Margaret Dickson, John Hood, Erinn Crider, Jim Jones, Shanessa Fenner, Paul Hall SALES ADMINISTRATOR/ DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Laurel Handforth laurel@upandcomingweekly.com ACCOUNTING Paulette Naylor accounting@upandcomingweekly.com MARKETING/SALES Linda McAlister Brown linda@upandcomingweekly.com ––––––––––– Up & Coming Weekly www.upandcomingweekly.com 208 Rowan Street 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 infor- mation 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 publi- cation consideration, but assumes no responsibil- ity 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 Air Force Base, Hope Mills and Spring Lake. Readers are limited to one copy per person. ©2007 by F&B Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of editorial or advertisements without permission is strictly prohibited. Cover art designed with various elements from: vecteezy.com and freepik.com. On Saturday, District 3 City Councilman and Mayor Pro Tem Mitch Colvin informally announced his intentions to challenge incum- bent Fayetteville Mayor Nat Robert- son. To quote USMC Private Gomer Pyle: "Surprise, surprise, surprise!" And, what a surprise it was. Need- less to say, this development has many involved Fayetteville citizens and political observers scratching their heads and wondering how this will affect the future of Fayetteville. eir concerns are justified. First of all, it was common knowl- edge in political circles that Colvin was not interested in seeking the mayor's spot this time around. In addition, he had pledged to support Robertson in his bid for a third term in office. Robertson was counting on it. Secondly, unlike the ugly and mean-spirited 2013 mayoral race between Val Applewhite and Rob- ertson, no such hostility, conflicts or transgressions seem to be present between Colvin and Robertson. is begs the question, why is Colvin entering the race? Why, after years of touting the many success- ful achievements impacting and improving Fayetteville's quality of life and economic development, would he question or challenge Fayetteville's present leadership and direction? And, without provo- cation? Even more disturbing is why Robertson's challengers are two sitting Council members. What's the beef? Under Robertson and the current council, Fayetteville has enjoyed a lower crime rate, a safer city and across the board quality-of- life achievements. ese achieve- ments include the $35 million Parks and Recreation bond and the $33 million baseball stadium, which is a potential $60 million economic development driver for the City and all of Cumberland County. Not to mention a vibrant downtown com- munity that is finally coming of age. In other words, what's not to like? Or, what's not to dislike? deViere versus Robertson. Ok we get it. ere are noticeable philo- sophical and leadership style differ- ences that manifested themselves over the last year. But, Colvin? ere are no such traces of animosity, internal conflict or leadership de- pravity. is too begs the question, what's Colvin's motive? How can he, or deViere for that matter, attack the leadership and achievements of a Council on which they both serve? We'll find out as this political drama unfolds. In the meantime, hope for the best but prepare for the worst in the long run. Unexplain- able situations like this don't usu- ally work out for the best. And then there's that old Fayetteville haunt that we never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity. Voters need to pay attention. Fayetteville's future is at stake here. And, the stakes are high. ank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly. ... and Colvin Makes Three by BILL BOWMAN BILL BOWMAN, Publisher, UP & COMING WEEKLY. COMMENTS? BILL@upandcomingweekly.com. (910) 391-3859. District 2 City Councilman Kirk deViere Incumbent Mayor Nat Robertson District 3 City Councilman and Mayor Pro Tem Mitch Colvin HIGH 94 LOW 76 HIGH 95 HIGH 92 HIGH 91 HIGH 88 HIGH 90 LOW 76 LOW 74 LOW 74 LOW 73 LOW 72 JULY 13 JULY 14 JULY 15 JULY 16 JULY 17 JULY 18 Mostly Sunny Partly Cloudy Scattered Thunderstorms Scattered Thunderstorms Scattered Thunderstorms Scattered Thunderstorms