Voters' Guide 2022: Meet Fayetteville City Council District 8 candidates Banks-McLaughlin, Pinkston
Courtney Banks-McLaughlin is the incumbent in District 8. The challenger is Michael Pinkston. Banks-McLaughlin is in her first term. She supports attracting jobs that provide a better quality of life and investigating the root causes of health and safety issues within the community, according to the city’s website. Pinkston is the owner of The Climbing Place downtown. He was a part of the Save the Historic Fayetteville Market House group. He also supports the “citizens on patrol” program, increasing the number of community watch programs and other measures to fight crime, according to a questionnaire with Longleaf Pine Realtors Government Affairs.
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.
Community, crime, and corruption: Fayetteville candidates face off in first forum
Courtney Banks-McLaughlin
Banks-McLaughlin did not respond to the Observer's questionnaire.
PHOTOS: Fayetteville Observer candidate forum on Tuesday
Michael Pinkston
Age: 70
Immediate family: Wife, Martha Pinkston; daughter, Shaun Pinkston; daughter, Sarah Braggs
Occupation: Owner of The Climbing Place for 30 years. We brought indoor climbing to Fayetteville, NC.
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?
1. It is my opinion that the Fayetteville Police Department lives in a state of FEAR because of Chief Gina Hawkins' draconian leadership style. This lack of leadership has created an environment in which it is almost impossible for officers to do their job. Fire the chief and the murder rate will diminish. Law enforcement cannot operate in an environment where every move they make could get them fired.
2. We need at least 75 new police men and women, that is and should be our number one priority for the city of Fayetteville. We definitely need walking patrols in high walking traffic areas, such as the downtown district, people need to feel safe and that can be accomplished with police walking and talking with the community.
3. A full 50% of home shootings happen at parties hosted by young people. Most if not all of these parties have alcohol, when you mix alcohol and guns and teenage you are bound to have trouble. How do you fix this problem? Use our school resources officers. Kids don't just decide to have a party, there is planning texting and a lot of talking. SRO officers need to be trained on how to pick up the cues from teens.
4. As to is the Police Department doing all it can I would have to say unequivocally NO.
Before I leave this question, I want to make sure you understand how important a police force is in the life of a community. The Police Department is the last line of law and justice. When we think of law enforcement we should be thinking of words like truth, service, protection, integrity, honesty, and kindness. Our police force is hired to protect our citizens regardless of race, religion, ethnic background, and sexual orientation.
Can the city and Cumberland County improve their relationship? What joint projects do you think might be useful to consider going forward?
There is always room for improvements between the city and county.
A joint 911 call center would enable calls to be processed in a much more efficient manner.
More news: Fayetteville council candidates talk crime, 2020 riots, tiny homes, and diversity training
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?
For more than 40 years I have seen the lowest levels that the downtown could possibly be. I have also watched as the downtown district has risen like a phoenix from the ashes to a place that is now a vibrant downtown center with theater, music, and wonderful places to dine. Shops that are full of people eager to buy goods.
Our fourth Friday has made a great impact on the downtown area.
(One) a suggestion would be that the Fourth Fridays include all the side streets including Russell and (Franklin).
The long-talked-about Civil War Museum will draw individuals from all over the world. Fayetteville cannot be mentioned without including Fort Bragg, the largest military base on the East Coast. We are a military city and it is only fitting that we honor our soldiers and veterans with this spectacular museum.
There is talk of a new civics center on the corner of Gillespie Street and Russell Street. This will be the most significant event since the building of Segra Baseball stadium. A new civics center in the downtown areas would complete ... the last piece to make Fayetteville a very competitive city with all the amenities of a large city.
Fayetteville would become a (21st) century city making all of Fayetteville proud to call this our home.
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This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Voter Guide 2022: Fayetteville City Council District 8
