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/995762
WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM JUNE 20-26, 2018 UCW 9 A lot has been written about the diversity of Fayetteville City Council District 2. Another freshman politician has been chosen to succeed former Councilman Tyrone Williams. Williams resigned in May after being accused of attempting to bribe PCH Holdings' Jordan Jones. e FBI's Public Cor- ruption Unit has been looking into the allegation. Local Chiropractor and construction contractor Dan Culliton was appointed by council to succeed Williams last week. "District 2 is traditionally not as apt to choose someone like me," said Culliton, who is white. District 2 is one of four predomi- nantly African-American districts created by the 2010 census to provide for the likely election of minority candidates. However, two other white men have been elected in recent years. Kirk deViere most recently served the district before deciding to seek higher office, paving the way for Williams. In the mid-2000s, businessman Paul Williams was the District 2 coun- cil representative. Culliton, 48, will be sworn in June 25. He finished runner-up to Tyrone Williams in last year's general election and will serve the remainder of Williams' term. Culliton told Up & Coming Weekly he isn't sure if he will seek election next year. He said it will depend on the will of the people. "I'm going to be a strong voice for the district," he said. Of his selection by city council, Culliton said, "ey did the right thing; I've been engaged in the district for a long time." e district is shaped like a fan with five blades. It also includes a satellite residen- tial area near Fayetteville Regional Air- port. Its population is 57 percent African- American. e Cumberland County Board of Elec- tions says there are 16,740 registered vot- ers in District 2, an impressive percentage of its 22,000 residents. Of that number, 9,498 voters are African-American. ere are 5,039 white voters. But, only 2,600 voters turned out in the general election last November. Williams received a 56 percent majority. District 2 is thought of as primar- ily serving the downtown area and East Fayetteville. ere are portions of 21 voting precincts in the district. It also covers a significant part of Haymount north of Hay Street over to Westmont Drive. On the northside, it includes areas along Ramsey Street as far north as Tokay and Country Club Drives. To the west, the district blan- kets areas north of and along Bragg Bou- levard to Cain Road, where it butts up to District 4. And, east of the river, District 2 encompasses mostly residential neighborhoods from Person Street to Cedar Creek Road out to I-95, exit 49. It goes south along Southern Avenue and Legion Road and on Owen Drive to Village Drive. District 2 has new representation by JEFF THOMPSON Dan Culliton is the new District 2 city councilman. NEWS 2018 national day of the COWBOY RODEO PRESENTS The 5 th annual July 27 th - 28 th - 29 th GATES OPEN AT 5PM SHOW STARTS AT 8PM GATES OPEN AT 12PM SHOW STARTS AT 2PM 7 B r a n c h a r e n a 6 2 M c G o u g a n r d . L u m b e r b r i d g e , n c 2 8 3 5 7 ONLINE AT DAYOFTHECOWBOYNC.COM GET YOUR TICKETS NOW! OR AT THE GATE SUNDAY FRI/SAT 7 BRANCH ARENA