Choosing a Mayor with Integrity

Councilwoman, District 7

Candidate for Fayetteville Mayor

With more than 32 years of military and public service, it was my time in the United States Air Force that taught me the responsibility of leadership, as well as the core values integrity, accountability, excellence and service before self. It’s with this same spirit that I became a candidate for Mayor of Fayetteville and am offering my service to our great city. 

Choosing a candidate for any election often comes with research for the informed voter. They’ll look into policy, read various articles highlighting debates or even ask friends their opinions on candidates. But sometimes - as voters compare and contrast - they might forget to ask some of the core questions. Does this candidate represent my personal values? Do they have integrity? Can I trust them? 

While we hope the answer would be ‘yes’ to these questions for anyone on the ballot, that is not always the case.  But, I’m a firm believer that candidates for elected office should be required to have integrity in their personal and professional lives. I also believe candidates should first demonstrate their ability to comply with the very laws every other citizen is held accountable for – and that includes meeting their financial and legal obligations to the best of their ability. Even before I became a councilwoman, these were some of the things I considered when choosing who I’d vote for in an election. 

In this mayoral race, it’s been discovered that one of the candidates chose not to comply with tax laws or satisfy various financial obligations until he chose to run for mayor. When he filed his candidacy, it seemed as though overnight, he amassed the ability to pay off tens of thousands of dollars of unpaid taxes and tax liens. While he apparently put great effort into raising large sums of money for his campaign, he waited until he became the subject of public scrutiny before fulfilling his financial obligations.

I would like to pose the question to my fellow candidate and residents of Fayetteville: ‘How can we entrust someone to fairly enforce the laws upon everyday people when they don’t follow the laws themselves?’

There are some that believe City Hall can be bought. It’s a belief that enough signs and mailers will create the smoke and mirrors required to confuse the public about who the candidates really are and what they stand for. It’s time for us to send a very clear signal in this election that our city does not have a ‘for sale’ sign on it.

And, just the same way Fayetteville can’t be bought, neither can I.

As your Mayor, I will fight to protect our neighborhoods and children from crime, without regard to where you live.  Families deserve to be safe in their homes, and I will commit the necessary resources to make this happen.

I will fight for quality jobs.  Statistics prove that crime is lower in communities that have low unemployment.  With unemployment in Cumberland County being amongst the highest in the state and nation, I will fight to protect local businesses that create jobs right here in Fayetteville. I will also create an environment within City Hall that promotes contracting opportunities for Cumberland County businesses that hire local workers and suppliers. The Hire Fayetteville First Job Creation Policy adopted by City Council will be fully implemented and our local, veteran, women and minority-owned businesses will be given priority in city contracting to help them grow and prosper.

I will fight to ensure that businesses are not faced with unruly regulations, such as the Unified Development Ordinance.  Through my efforts along with Councilman D.J. Haire, City Council began its recent review of the ordinance and its impact on the development community. 

I will fight to protect our PWC from those who wish to grab $80 million dollars in reserves that PWC has saved to keep our utility rates low and our electric and water systems safe. We must protect PWC’s reserves from those politicians who would use that money to promote private interests and not the public good.

The truth is, I’m the most experienced candidate for Mayor. I’m also the only candidate prepared to lead our city. With a new city manager and police chief – and with nearly half of City Council being new – Fayetteville needs a mayor who understands City Hall and the issues impacting the broadest segments of our city. Even more so, our city needs a mayor who is prepared to develop and implement realistic solutions immediately. 

Together we can make Fayetteville a community of choice for families and businesses.  I ask for your continued prayers and your vote on October 8th.