UPDATE: On June 29, the last day of the filing period, District Court Judge Lou Olivera withdrew from the race for Cumberland County’s multi-seat Superior Court District 12C. Olivera backed out after a change in the law forced him to choose which sitting Judge to challenge, Jim Ammons or Mary Ann Tally.
Not wanting to face either in a head to head match, Olivera packed it in.
There will be no Republican candidate in District 12C.
Last week, I wrote a post about how the local Democratic Party is setting fire to the “big tent” philosophy of the Party by endorsing judicial candidates with a questionnaire vetting process; instead of endorsing all Democratic candidates like they have in the past.
The folly of this approach can already be seen in the selection process for the vacant City Council District 2 seat. The Cumberland County Democratic Party executive board decided very early in the selection process, before all candidates were known, to support Fayetteville State Attorney, Patricia Bradley. A mistake that ultimately cost Democrats the seat. Don’t get me wrong; Mrs. Bradley is a fantastic candidate and more than qualified for the position. However, when you select your player without knowing the game, you’re bound to lose.
FiveThirtyEight has an interesting article up about the nationalization of our news sources and the increasing partisanship and polarization of our politics. In short, even the smallest of local issues is now examined through a national, partisan lens.
The article even gives a shout-out to the Fayetteville Observer:
Americans today are far more engaged with and knowledgeable about national politics than state or local politics, a gap that has been growing in recent decades. And it turns out that the changing media environment is a key engine of today’s nationalization. More and more, Americans are turning away from the media outlets that are most likely to provide a modicum of state or local coverage. They are substituting Fox News (or maybe FiveThirtyEight) for the Fayetteville Observer, and The New York Times’ website for the Nevada Appeal.
Last week, I went to a town hall with U.S. Senator Thom Tillis and Rep. Richard Hudson at the Greater Fayetteville Chamber. The topics ranged from as broad as taxes and tariffs to as specific as Dodd – Frank. However, it wasn’t the content that struck me; it was Tillis’s demeanor and candor. Tillis had a fairly conservative, wealthy, and friendly audience in front of him, yet he spoke as a centrist. While Hudson was towing the party line, Tillis was challenging the folks in the room to discard extreme ideologies and to think of your fellow man when making business decisions; cautioning some of the wealthiest people in Fayetteville about the dangers of greed. I was stunned and dismayed. Dismayed because he’s going to be Senator for life if he wants it.
Hurricane Matthew wiped out dozens of dams in Cumberland County and Eastern North Carolina. Many Fayetteville residents with empty community lakes have called on the City of Fayetteville to assist with repairs. After all, the city is spending thousands on storm-water maintenance and collecting fees from taxpayers to address flooding issues.
The city has declined direct assistance to the affected residents, stating repeatedly through its leadership that it can’t use public money to repair their private dams:
City staff emphasized that its hands were tied as far as how much the city could do.
Deputy City Manager Kristoff Bauer emphasized that the city could not spend public money on private dams.
Councilman Jim Arp, who represents Loch Lomond, said he wants to find a solution to restore the lake. But he and Crisp said they are concerned about spending city money on private dams.
“It has to benefit all the taxpayers of Fayetteville,” Arp said.
Cross Creek Divide 