Fayetteville Observer Voter Guide: Meet the four candidates for City Council District 5
Three challengers are seeking to unseat the incumbent in the primary election for Fayetteville City Council District 5.
Long-term councilman Johnny Dawkins will face off at the polls with business owner and former City Council candidate Fred G. LaChance III; real estate investor and entrepreneur Justin Herbe; and realtor and developer Lynne Bissette Greene.
The top two vote-getters in the Oct. 10 primary election will head to the Nov. 7 general election.
Here are the candidates' answers to a candidate questionnaire from The Fayetteville Observer. They have been edited for style and grammar.
Johnny Dawkins
Age: 64
Immediate family: Spouse of 40-plus years, Donna, and two grown children.
Occupation: Benefits consultant for EbenConcepts, Fayetteville.
Elected office held: City Council District 5 for six years, 2017 to present. City Council District 9 from 2003-05.
Contact information: dawkinsforcouncil@gmail.com; www.jldawkins.com; Facebook: Johnny Dawkins
For incumbents: What do you consider to be your greatest achievement or achievements in office?For challengers: What issue or issues compelled you to seek office?
Making the motion in 2004, after gathering the votes to have the debt forgiven by the Airborne & Special Operations Museum, to turn the museum over to the U.S. Army in perpetuity. Creation of the Drainage Assistance Program for our citizens to help them with stormwater problems. Completing the Segra Baseball Stadium. Fully funding the Fayetteville Police Department. Creating a business environment in our city for millions of new investment dollars and new jobs.
What do you consider to be the top three to five challenges facing the city of Fayetteville and/or your district?
We must continue to improve public safety and reduce crime. We must continue to grow good-paying jobs. We must continue to protect neighborhoods, so families can enjoy a quality of life unmatched in North Carolina. We must continue to promote positive relationships with Fort Liberty, Cape Fear Valley Health System, Fayetteville State University, FTCC (Fayetteville Technical Community College), Methodist University, and our large and small employers. I have the business experience to continue to do that.
Although Fayetteville’s reputation has come a long way, there are many people who still see the city in a negative light. What are your ideas as to how to change that perception?
I was born in Fayetteville, I grew up in Fayetteville, went off to college, came back to Fayetteville, and started two successful businesses. By working with our military, our schools and universities, and our local health system, we can create an environment for better-paying jobs. When people have more money in their back pocket, they feel better about themselves, and they have a better perception of their city.
What are your ideas for attracting new investment and new residents to the city, especially young families?
Over 10,000 soldiers separate from the U.S. Army every year at Fort Liberty. We must make sure we work closely with Fort Liberty, our universities, our manufacturing sector, our small businesses, and our local hospital system so young families, veterans, and our graduates will want to stay in Fayetteville.
How have you or how will you engage with your constituents?
For six years, I have been a quick responder to my constituents. My goal is to respond to a citizen within 24 hours. I may not have the answer to their question, but I know how to connect our citizens to the resources and people on city staff who can provide the answers. I have published my cellphone, so I get lots of texts and phone calls. My home address is 1908 Millan Drive, so if there is a problem, I can get to my constituents quickly. Of course, I get quite a few emails to johnnydawkins@fayettevillenc.gov every single day. My leadership training, my 42 years of business experience, and my vision for the future of Fayetteville, all matter, as I help the city council chart the course for a brighter future for ALL of our citizens and their families.
Lynne Bissette Greene
Age: 61
Immediate family: Daughter, Krystle Greene of NYC
Occupation: Realtor/developer
Elected office held: None
Contact information: info@lynnebgreene.com, 910-237-8224; Facebook - Lynne Greene for City Council;www.lynnebgreene.com
For incumbents: What do you consider to be your greatest achievement or achievements in office?For challengers: What issue or issues compelled you to seek office?
Fayetteville needs new leadership that is community-focused. I love this community and it's important to me that we make Fayetteville the best it can be. I want to be part of the leadership that makes that happen.
What do you consider to be the top three to five challenges facing the city of Fayetteville and/or your district?
1. Safety of Fayetteville’s citizens is top priority. We need to increase funding to our Police Department for additional staff/officers (currently over 80 vacancies), officer retention (which should include higher wages to be competitive with other cities our size) and most importantly, training. We also need to invest in successful community programs like after-school activities and summer job opportunities that will address the causes of crime before it turns into violence. We need open lines of communication between our Police Department and neighborhoods to build collaboration and reinvigorate a sense of pride in our city’s neighborhoods.
2. We need to be "open for business." Part of that means improving safety so we can attract businesses and their employees. We need better incentives for businesses to move here and invest here. We must keep our tax base in line with other cities our size if we expect to recruit business.
3. We need to "focus on Fayetteville's future." We need to incentivize businesses to locate here. We must help existing businesses stay healthy and resilient. Fayetteville has to be fiscally responsible NOW to ensure that we have funds for the future, which will minimize tax increases. Commonsense strategies for the future!
Although Fayetteville’s reputation has come a long way, there are many people who still see the city in a negative light. What are your ideas as to how to change that perception?
This is a difficult question because for some people "perception is reality," and changing their minds can be challenging. I remember a survey done years ago by the Chamber of Commerce where they polled groups of people inside and outside North Carolina regarding their "perceptions" of our city. The group which had the most negative view of Fayetteville were those inside the state, but within that same group, a large percentage of them had never visited Fayetteville. Unfortunately, I believe it ties back to crime rates and how the media sells negative news. We must intentionally, as a community, focus on our positives and the assets we have to offer our citizens.
What are your ideas for attracting new investment and new residents to the city, especially young families?
Again, offering a safe city is paramount. No new investor or business wants to locate where the crime rate is too high. We need to evaluate how to incentivize businesses to locate in neglected areas in order to begin revitalization. We need to invest in green space, cultural events and our city's identity so people will move here, work here, stay here and play here. We need to also focus on the resources already at hand. FTCC (Fayetteville Technical Community College) offers many trade courses (plumbers, electricians, etc.) where those students who don't desire a college degree can begin to learn a skill in high school and can join an apprentice program immediately after graduation. Homegrown "young families" start here at home by giving them a reason to stay here and become the entrepreneurs of tomorrow!
How have you or how will you engage with your constituents?
I have spoken individually with many of my constituents personally, listening to their concerns and the issues which frustrate them most. The tax increase is affecting all of us, and many of my constituents feel there were parts of the 2022 bond referendum that were not disclosed to them. My webpage and social media page are both great places to learn more about me. I have tried to be very informative on both sites, for all voters, not just my constituents. I have several opportunities coming up where my constituents will be able to hear me speak or talk to me one-on-one. Those events will be listed on social media as the dates approach. Most importantly, I try to be accessible by phone. The nature of my work does not always allow me to answer immediately, but I do try and return calls and texts as quickly as possible.
Justin Herbe
Age: 41
Immediate family: Wife, Phyllis, and sons, Othniel, Micaiah, Daniel, Abraham and Ezra
Occupation: Real estate investor; small business entrepreneur; retired U.S. Army officer
Elected office held: None
Contact information: justinherbedistrict5@gmail.com; 910-446-9710; https://justinherbefordistrict5.minisite.ai/; @JUSTINHERBEDISTRICT5.
For incumbents: What do you consider to be your greatest achievement or achievements in office?For challengers: What issue or issues compelled you to seek office?
The biggest issue we face is the lack of transparency with elected officials. It is more and more apparent that our current officials are more concerned with building prisons in the community, extending terms limits and recusing themselves from votes than advocating for their constituents. We need city officials that will advocate for every constituent in the community. Our city is not for sale. We are the Can Do City, and we “Can Do” Better.
What do you consider to be the top three to five challenges facing the city of Fayetteville and/or your district?
The biggest challenge facing our city is voter apathy. Our city has less than 19% of Fayetteville residents turn out to vote. We need to recognize the importance of voting, especially if we would like change. The people of Fayetteville must understand that local government matters because it affects our safety, our neighborhoods, and our First Amendment rights such as freedom of speech, or of the press, to assemble and protect ourselves. Beyond the fundamental challenges we are facing from our government, we also have a growing domestic violence issue that challenges our first responders that is short over 50 officers. We must immediately raise their pay to attract more recruits and encourage first responders to stay in Fayetteville. Lastly, we have a growing housing crisis on our hands. Rising housing costs have put pressure on the unsheltered population. Depending on who you ask, Fayetteville has between 500-1,000 homeless living on the streets. Men, women, with a growing number of children, either sleep in shelters, in their cars or wherever they can find space. We must treat them with dignity and respect. We must show empathy and ensure they are receiving the mental health counseling, drug prevention measures and a little humanitarian assistance available. We must not create dependency upon the government. We must teach them to support themselves before the crisis grows.
Although Fayetteville’s reputation has come a long way, there are many people who still see the city in a negative light. What are your ideas as to how to change that perception?
Fayetteville is rapidly growing into a big city. The past stigmas are still with us, but our rebranding efforts have gone a long way in redefining the city as the CAN DO City and what that stands for. Our commerce is high for all businesses; small, old and new. Fayetteville is known as being a top place for Black-owned businesses and is one of the fastest-growing cities in North Carolina.
It's necessary for the City Council to encourage the creation of more safe places for families, more green space for people to enjoy our wonderful year-round weather, and more outdoor events at the parks and venues we currently have.
Fayetteville has been divided into nine districts and only one representative at large. These districts divide us and create a limited scope of vision because each representative is forced to prioritize their own district over the entire city. The message of a unified city is necessary to further the growth, otherwise, the divisions that currently exist could become exasperated and create new problems like stalled growth, lack of vision, and disinterest in humanitarian issues like homelessness that may not exist in every district.
What are your ideas for attracting new investment and new residents to the city, especially young families?
It's easy to attract new residents to the community; we are next door to the largest Army base in the country. The question is: How do we keep new residents, especially young families desiring to stay here? Better schools, safer neighborhoods and outdoor activities will attract families. We must work closer together with the county in these efforts because some of the responsibility falls on it to improve these items.
Fayetteville falls behind compared to the rest of the U.S. with residents with “some college”; these are people who have started at a two-year community college or four-year university but did not graduate for whatever reason. These individuals now have college debt and nothing to show for it. This shows our high schools are not preparing our students for college. That's wrong, we have to do something. Good schools often have the benefit of having high-end commercial property located within their district.
In order to attract high-end business and commercial business headquarters we must ensure the city and county give incentives to the businesses so that they choose Fayetteville. We cannot keep taxing our residential residents in order to fund the city. The best way to raise revenue is to find commerce and industry to help lift up our city, if this does not happen, we will get left behind.
How have you or how will you engage with your constituents?
Every night I walk the neighborhoods in my district and share with neighbors my message of building unity and transparency in our city government. As I go door to door, I constantly seek feedback and ask what they want to see changed. They want leaders who are going to carry them forward into the future and not hold us in the past. They want fresh faces and fresh ideas. I'm trying to encourage individuals in neighborhoods who don't have community watches to start them. It's critical that if citizens are not registered to vote that I explain to them how to register and the current early voting opportunities that are available for individuals who can't get out on election day. The government was created to work for us, not against us.
Fred G. LaChance III
Age: 71
Immediate family: Wife, Dixie LaChance
Occupation: Owner of Dixie Antiques & Collectibles; retired U.S. Navy.
Elected office held: None
Contact information: seabagg@aol.com; Facebook; and Nextdoor
For incumbents: What do you consider to be your greatest achievement or achievements in office? For challengers: What issue or issues compelled you to seek office?
The reason I am running for office is because we have no communication between our public officials and voters. Hometown meetings are nonexistent in Fayetteville.
What do you consider to be the top three to five challenges facing the city of Fayetteville and/or your district?
Crime; homeless people; budgets; no communication between voters and City Council
Although Fayetteville’s reputation has come a long way, there are many people who still see the city in a negative light. What are your ideas as to how to change that perception?
The negative light is the crime in Fayetteville. The police need to be able to do their job without outside interference from various groups.
What are your ideas for attracting new investment and new residents to the city, especially young families?
Becoming more small-business friendly. Clean up the crime and trash around the city.
How have you or how will you engage with your constituents?
I am a big supporter of town hall meetings. Communication is lacking in Fayetteville between City Council members and their voters.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Here's who is running for Fayetteville City Council District 5
