LETTER TO THE EDITOR
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Candidate Asks: Should the County Move Forward or Backward?
Early voting has already begun
across the county, and the people have a decision to make: Should the county move forward or backward? I was honored and privileged to be appointed to the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners to fi ll the unexpired term of Breeden Blackwell. When I was sworn-in as the newest county commissioner on March 1, I did not intend to make history as being the youngest commissioners in known county history at the age of 29. But what I did intend to do was work on behalf of all the citizens of the county in moving our county forward. My fi rst week on the job, I took a tour of the county detention center, a.k.a. the county jail. Since I am a criminal attorney with The Mitchell Law Group, that was not my fi rst time visiting there, but after getting the full tour of all the pods, cells, and support areas, I had a much better idea of how the jail operates and how badly expansion of the facility is needed. Our county faces some fi nancial challenges in the upcoming budget season, but I believe jail expansion should be a priority. Our judges, magistrates and law enforcement personnel should not be making decisions on pretrial release or sentencing based on jail space, but instead should only have to consider the severity of the crime and the individual’s criminal background. It is my job as county commissioner to give them the tools they need to be successful and to make our community a safe place to live. As a Cumberland County native and former U.S. Army captain and Iraq veteran, I know how important public service is to this community.
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It means speaking with citizens and being open to new ideas. I’ve spent the last month traveling to all the municipalities, touring all three of our higher institutions of learning, and meeting with community groups about what we can do together as a county. I’ve also begun to send out a bi-monthly e-newsletter to my constituents, updating them about my activities as their at-large county commissioner (if you wish to be added, e-mail your request to phillip@ phillipgilfus.com). There are many people who do not know what a county commissioner does, other than charge them property tax! But there is much more that we do. We fund our entire public school system, Fayetteville Technical Community College, the county jail, the Department of Social Services, the Public Health Building and more. We also appoint citizens to various county boards and commissions and I encourage any citizen interested in serving on any of these to contact me. In the end, Cumberland County
deserves county commissioners who are accessible to the people, who can work with different groups in working towards a common goal and who are dedicated to making this community a better place to live.
I ask for your vote either on the May 4 Democratic Primary or during the early voting period which lasts until May 1. If you have any questions, either visit my Web site at www.phillipgilfus.com or e-mail me at phillip@phillipgilfus.com.
Thank you again for the chance to serve. Phillip Gilfus, County Commissioner (At-Large) APRIL 28-MAY 4, 2010 UCW 5
