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.
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ELECTION Guide 2012 Candidates running for state office were asked the following questions: • How can North Carolina continue to cut state spending at a time when our state is among the fastest growing in the nation? Please state specific cuts, if any, that can be made without further damage to public education at all levels. Carolina businesses and companies would get first crack at state and local contracts, so that our tax dollars create jobs here, not out of state or in China. And, I support a "Made in North Carolina" incentive, which would reward companies who locate here, produce here, and hire workers here. • If elected, what will you personally do to bridge the partisan divide that has hijacked state politics? North Carolina House, District 45 North Carolina is undergoing significant changes and we need strong, sensible, serious, and experienced leadership in Raleigh to turn things around for us here at home. I know how to create jobs. As Mayor of Hope Mills, I spearheaded the Millstone mixed-use development, with its movie theatres, shops, new homes and condos, that created a lot of new jobs, as did the Holiday Inn and its surrounding shops. Eddie Dees a balanced budget, but cutting education funding is like eating your seed corn — how will you plant your next crop? As a teacher, I know investing in our students and our schools is the blueprint for economic success. encouraging, empowering, and The single biggest driver of our state's economy is education, and investing in our students today will provide us with a robust workforce tomorrow. Adequate funding for education — pre-k programs, K-12, and college student loans — is not charity. It's good business. In the past two years, under the guise of good business for North Carolina, $620 million has been cut from K-12 public schools, even though our state has 12,000 more students in public schools. Thousands of teachers and teacher assistants lost their jobs, and many of them taught right here in Cumberland County. More students. Less money. Fewer teachers. This is not the formula for North Carolina's economic success. And when the Goodyear plant was threatened, I stood tall with community leaders to block the closing of the plant. I strongly advocate for a 'North Carolina First' program that would ensure that North It has been said that while children represent only 25 percent of our present population, they represent 100 percent of our future. As an educator and coach for more than 37 years, I realize that public education is now on the chopping block. I understand cuts need to be made to create As a coach, I know that a well thought out game plan will produce a winning formula. As a former three-term mayor, I know firsthand how important it is to create consensus. Absolutely nothing can be accomplished without the beliefs, ideas and opinions of the people you work with. I also know that pushing partisan political agendas never benefits the community as a whole because our community is diverse. My town council was made up of people from different parties, with different world views, yet we accomplished a great deal by working together as a team. As mayor of Hope Mills, I worked with the Council, the community and local businessmen, and we saw the population, and the workforce, grow by more than 33 percent — without a tax hike — but I couldn't have done that without the help of my colleagues — regardless of their political party. I plan to bring that credo to the General Assembly and not get caught up in damaging, dividing party politics. You can count on my love of Cumberland County, my leadership and dedication as a mayor and educator, and my beliefs as a husband and father, to work hard for you and your families. Over 20 Years of Experience in Civil, Criminal and Military Law 22 UCW OCT. 31 - NOV. 6, 2012 VOTESTEVESTOKES.COM EARLY VOTING OCT 18 - NOV 3 | ELECTION DAY NOV 6 Paid for by the Committee to Elect Steve Stokes District Court Judge WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Paid for by the Committee to Elect Steve Stokes District Court Judge