Up & Coming Weekly

OCTOBER 14-20, 2009 UCW 5 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM The older subdivisions are on the move! Sick of commercial encroachment, congestion and construction on every square inch of land, neighborhood coalitions are springing up to fi ght decisions made by city council members who "owe their souls to the developers' stores." At times, certain council members make no attempt to represent their districts. The most recent example of this indifference to a constituency played out at the September 28 council meeting. Summerhill and Cottonade homeowners sat alongside each other with different items on the council agenda but both groups there in defense of neighborhood integrity. Summerhill's "pocket park" and the county's long-accepted land-use policy went down to defeat when Wesley Meredith not only ignored his District 9's petitioners but proved himself a "Judas" but initiating the motion that would defeat them. On the other hand, he succeeded in getting their Councilman D.J. Haire to persuade the Council to allow a public hearing on the 80 acres of woods off Santa Fe that will be developed. He would not make a commitment to support their cause, however. This is not a unique precedence. Arsenal Avenue residents are still smarting over Councilman Evan's reneging on a promise to preserve the historical beauty of their street. The lack of transparency in City Council decisions and the obvious infl uence of brokering is beginning to spur populist activism. The sentiment growing in the Reilly Rd/Yadkin Rd neighborhoods is similar to the anti-annexation fi ght that organized the CCCU. That CCCU continues to advocate for the annexed areas and has elected two effective Councilmen in Ted Mohn and Bill Crisp. Much of the effort to thwart public opinion in old political strategies has been "found out." Consent agendas that "slip" rezoning cases through without a hearing and "done deal" agreements made in work sessions that only reach the Council agenda as a "formality" are examples of political shenanigans. The shock occurs when Council representatives openly pledge to support their constituency and conveniently "forget" when the vote is cast. Gerrymandered districts that dilute neighborhood power and assure incumbent re-election is nothing new. But the political penchant to "shrug" off constituencies in the western part of the city as politically impotent because of the supposition they are composed of a nonresident, nonvoting military population is eroding. The historic tactic of fi nancing a candidate in these districts that can be tightly controlled by high-dollar contributors no longer "washes" with a more informed public. Elected offi cials will have to rethink their political "lip service"-only representation. Voters are demanding accountability. The political landscape is also changing. Retired military are living in the homes they purchased in the 1960-70s and want their neighborhoods livable, beautiful and safe. They are an experienced core that can become a catalyst for political organization. Younger transient families are moving to nearby counties and affordable housing, space and schools. The result is "fresh" political faces that are popping up to challenge previously uncontested council races. The problem remains money. Politics still is all about money, and until we have "voter-owned elections" (public-fi nanced campaigns), incumbents will always have "the edge." If the neighborhoods want the representation they deserve, they will have to recruit candidates who connect with the character of their communities. And they will have to support these candidates with their pocketbooks — no matter how small the contributions. Small contributions are the fuel that fi res the debate and illuminate the political process. Maybe these small contributions will grow strong enough to break the grip of the large self-interested campaign donors. In an economy that forces new approaches to raising funds, candidates may have to band together in coalitions of similar vision to buy the necessary radio and television time to make their opinions heard — a "media" pac where issues are presented rather than strident, partisan name-calling. Only then will the older neighborhoods be reinvented and retrofi tted to support lifelong communities — communities populated with pocket parks, wooded green space, stores within walking distance and neighborhoods that are truly "hometown." — Sharon Valentine, Fayetteville, N.C. Letter to the Editor I am writing in response to an article published in the Sep. 30-Oct. 6 edition of the Up & Coming Weekly, "Babylonians, eggs and balance." The article incorrectly states that there are two days a year on which raw eggs can be balanced on end, the vernal and autumnal equinoxes. This is simply not true. A quick search online reveals egg-balancing on certain days to be only a myth, reinforced by the fact that people only try to balance eggs on the equinoxes. There are enough clues in the article to let the reader know that Pitt Dickey is just being silly with the whole Babylonian history (the Tower of Babel line, as well as "equinox" having a Babylonian etymology), but the reader is still left thinking that Dickey believes the egg-balancing phenomenon to be true. Or was the entirety of the piece tongue-in-cheek? — Casey Roberson, Librarian Methodist University On the Move by SHARON VALENTINE OPINION / EDITORIAL OPINION / EDITORIAL Ticket Prices: $12 - $18 - $24 - $30 VIP - $40 Rinkside Limited number of VIP and Rinkside seats available. Call or go online for details. (Service charges, facility and handling fees may apply; no service charge at Arena Box Office.) For information call (337) 265-2100 Buy tickets at www.disneyonice.com, Retail Locations, The Cajundome Box Office or call 1-800-745-3000 Thu. NOV. 19 ( 7:00 PM Fri. Sat. Sun. OPENING NIGHT TICKETS $12!* NOV. 20 7:00 PM NOV. 21 11:00 AM 3:00 PM NOV. 22 1:00 PM 5:00 PM *(Excludes Rinkside and VIP seats. No double discounts.) NOV. 19 - 22 2&7 129 7KX2&7+30 2&7 2&7 129 30 7KH&URZQ&HQWHU%R[2IÀFH )RULQIRUPDWLRQFDOO 7LFNHW3ULFHV

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