Voters' Guide 2022: Meet Fayetteville City Council District 4 candidates Greene, Haire
D.J. Haire is the incumbent in District 4. His challenger is Thomas C. Greene. Haire is the longest-serving council member, having served 10 terms. He was also mayor pro tem in 2012. He has helped initiate several initiatives to improve the Murchison Road corridor near Fayetteville State University. He helped initiate the “Hire Fayetteville First” program. Greene wants to reduce crime and improve the quality of life for Fayetteville residents, according to a video post and his comments at candidates' forums. He is against mask mandates, abortions and the Democratic Party, according to his Facebook posts.
Here are their answers to a candidate questionnaire from The Fayetteville Observer. Some Voter Guide profiles ran before the primary in May. They have been edited for style and grammar.
Read this: Fayetteville council candidates talk crime, 2020 riots, tiny homes and diversity training
Community, crime and corruption: Fayetteville candidates face off in first forum
Thomas Greene
Age: 50
Immediate family: Sonya Greene
Occupation: Self-employed bail bondsman
Elected office held: None
How can the city address the increased number of murders? Is the Police Department doing all it can, in your opinion?
Increase police presence, more interdiction in the narco-economy in Fayetteville
Can the city and Cumberland County improve their relationship? What joint projects do you think might be useful to consider going forward?
We could do many things. One thing would be a partnership to address homelessness.
Downtown has received plenty of attention when it comes to economic development and new initiatives to encourage investments. What is your plan to encourage development and investment in the rest of the city?
Start off with a local, county and state task force in order to disrupt the human trafficking and drug trafficking in the city.
PHOTOS: Fayetteville Observer candidate forum on Tuesday
D.J. Haire
Age: 63
Immediate family: Wife, Wendy; five daughters, four grands
Occupation: Real estate, local business owner
Elected office held: City Council District 4
How can the city address the increased number of murders? Is the Police Department doing all it can, in your opinion?
We can always do better and improve within our Police Department. I like community policing. I truly believe if we can increase in having better relationships between police and the community that goes a long ways. One example could be residents calling their zone officers on their personal cell and informing them of a high crime act that maybe taking place or that may be in a planning stage. A resident brought this concept to our Police Department called a "Violent Crime Reduction Advocate." I'm still learning about it, but it's a concept on getting into these areas of the city with higher crime statistics and doing education programs. It involves teaching citizens and making them aware of how these higher crimes affect their surroundings and their neighborhoods, in all markets. There's no one fix for crime improvements. I'm open to learn and look at new methods, technology, concepts that other cities are trying and sharing with our Police Department and council.
Can the city and Cumberland County improve their relationship? What joint projects do you think might be useful to consider going forward?
Yes, there is always room to improve relationships with the county. Presently the city and county are looking at the same new gunshot and camera technology. I think this is a great initiative for both bodies to collaborate together with. This is good for the municipalities and the citizens of Cumberland County as a whole. To go along with this new technology venture, we can add working together on community policing. Both bodies working together builds more trust with our neighborhoods. With cities all over the globe searching for more manpower and retention, I think it would also be very useful for us working together on that issue.
Downtown has received plenty of attention when it comes to economic development and new initiatives to encourage investments. What is your plan to encourage development and investment in the rest of the city?
As you drive around our city you can't help but see city investments throughout our city limits. They include new housing; more recreation; investments in our corridors; funding for small and local businesses; affordable housing planning; large corporations and companies (Amazon and others); new fiber internet (MetroNet); and a new Health Wellness Center coming to Murchison Road and Filter Plant Drive. These are just a few items that have been driven by the present City Council. I will continue to support these type initiatives. I'm one of the people who spearheaded efforts toward more incentive packages for Contractors and other Investors to rebuild in our older neighborhoods. I'm always supporting and requesting that our ordinances and policies be more business-friendly to our business community. I will continue to support having open conversations with our public, military, county and other stakeholders. Growing our city more is a collaborative effort.
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This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Voter Guide 2022: Fayetteville City Council District 4
