City Councilman Mario Benavente says that neither he nor fellow council members Malik Davis or Courtney Banks-McLaughlin shirked their responsibilities to attend meetings with René Steiner, the mayor of Saint-Avold, France, or other Saint-Avold leaders during a May visit for “American Week” to Fayetteville’s sister city.
And, Benavente says, they did not take a day trip to Paris on this city’s dime, aka your taxpayer dime.
“We had a free afternoon,” the councilman says, “and we paid for our own train tickets.”
No cost, Benavente says, to the city for the council members to visit Paris.
“We walked 20 minutes to a train station,” the councilman says. “17 euros from Saint-Avold to Metz; Metz to Paris (by) train — 100 euros.
“Zero expense to the city.
“Same for food,” Benavente says. “We got gyros.”
This issue of the three council members heading off to Paris surfaced last week in a CityView report by Evey Weisblat, and where revelations of the Paris day trip drew concern from some city residents about Benavente, Davis and Banks-McLaughlin charging the Paris visit to the city.
To be clear here, the city footed the cost for the three council members, according to the city, at a cost of $7,846 for the council members, i.e. air travel, baggage and per diem for two days of travel. According to the CityView report, Saint-Avold paid for hotel lodging and meals for the trip.
Weisblat reports the Fayetteville delegation of 14 people included Karen Canady of the Fayetteville-Saint-Avold Friendship Alliance in Fayetteville; Robert Patton, executive vice president of the Fayetteville-Cumberland Economic Development Corporation; and Nat Robertson, a former Fayetteville mayor and now-chief executive officer for the Greater Fayetteville Chamber.
Gail Morfesis also was a part of the delegation. Morfesis is a former unsuccessful candidate for the City Council Dist. 2 seat won by Malik Davis. She was eliminated in the primary.
“They sent a note saying they had gone to Paris for sightseeing,” Morfesis told CityView in Weisblat’s report, adding that Benavente, Davis and Banks-McLaughlin departed for Paris during an economic development discussion, which Morfesis describes as the “centerpiece of the whole program.”
Kris Johnson, president of the Fayetteville-Saint-Avold Friendship Alliance, said Tuesday morning that the economic development discussion included economic, business, cultural and tourism leaders from Saint-Avold.
“When they came back,” Morfesis told CityView previously, “they said that no one had told them that they needed to be there.”
Let’s be honest here. No one should have told the council members they needed to be there. The essence of the trip in the first place was about the relationship of Fayetteville and Saint-Avold with one another as sister cities. We’re not a sister city with Paris. We’re a sister city with Saint-Avold.
“Let me put it this way,” Johnson said Tuesday. “It was a business-type meeting. Saint-Avold had their director of economic development there. We did take a break, and it was during the break the City Council members left. I was not aware of their plan to go to Paris until they walked out.”
Off to Paris, Benavente, Davis and Banks-McLaughlin went.
“After consulting with our guide, we were given the green light to take an afternoon to ourselves, because nothing was scheduled for us to be present for that afternoon,” Benavente says. “We were also outright encouraged by Saint-Avold staff to take the trip when we mentioned it to them.”
They say; she says
Benavente says Karen Canady was the point person for the trip to Saint-Avold. Canady is the educational liaison for the Fayetteville-Saint-Avold Friendship Alliance.
“City staff told us Karen was our guide,” he says. “Courtney asked when we would have time outside the agenda on day one, and we were told the afternoon of May 28, because city council members were not scheduled to be anywhere. On the day of May 28, we let her know we were heading out and her final words to us was, ‘Bring back a souvenir.’”
Not so, Canady said.
“That’s a bald-faced lie,” Canady told The Kirby File Wednesday. “I never said bring back a souvenir.”
Councilman Davis also says he talked with Canady.
“I was given the green light by Karen Canady,” the freshman councilman says.
Canady says she never talked with Benavente or Banks-McLaughlin about the Paris trip, but did talk with Davis when, she says, he asked about the May 28 itinerary and if the council members needed to be in attendance later in the afternoon.
“I told him in the afternoon we had a lighter day,” Canady says. “He said, ‘So, they don’t need us?’ At 11:30, they were gone.”
But Canady says she never told any council member it was OK to visit Paris, about four hours away from Saint-Avold.
“They never asked me directly if they could go to Paris,” Canady says. “We were meeting at the City Council of Saint-Avold. They were giving us information of revitalizations. They [Benavente, Davis and Banks-McLaughlin] were there that morning for part of it, but they were on their phones the whole time. They were busy texting.”
Canady says the delegation largely complied with every event.
“The only people who seemed to treat it like a vacation,” she says, “was our City Council.”
“I was offended for him,” Canady says of Saint-Avold Mayor René Steiner. “I certainly don’t appreciate the city council members trying to make me look incompetent by saying I would approve of their absence from our hosts’ plans.”
Behind the scenes
This entire scenario has led to a lot of tension and finger-pointing.
“I understand that privileged members of the trip who globetrot on a regular basis have been critical of the Black and brown council members who got passports for the first time to visit Europe for the first time,” Benavente says. “Thankfully, the down-to-earth constituents that elected me have universally agreed they would have done the same with a free afternoon. As much as the privileged want to make this an anti-City Council story, it’s really just another example of the deeply rooted issues of racial politics in Fayetteville.”
Some of us aren’t buying that, and I’m one of them.
Benavente has harsh words for Nat Robertson and Kris Johnson, the very woman who has kept the Fayetteville-Saint-Avold sister city relationship alive for this city.
“Their disdain throughout the trip was palpable and has culminated in an effort to weaponize the press,” Benavente says. “They want you to believe we disappeared without notice and never returned. We arrived around 7 p.m. and were back in our hotels in time to be virtually present for the city council meeting that night.”
Kris Johnson says she is not interested in stirring the pot or “getting into a spitting contest” but does say Benavente told her she was not competent to lead the sister city relationship. Robertson did not respond to an email inquiry Tuesday regarding Benavente’s claim.
Epilogue
So much for this trip of goodwill to Saint-Avold.
City residents just want to be assured three city council members paid for their trip to Paris; not city taxpayers.
“We did,” Benavente says of $18.21 for the train transportation to Metz; $107 for train transportation to Paris; and $5 for the gyros. “All of which we paid personally.”
A trip, Davis says, “to see the Eiffel Tower, then back to Saint-Avold to prepare for our City Council meeting that night.”
As for Councilwoman Courtney Banks-McLaughlin, she did not return two emails — one on Monday and a second early Tuesday. Nor did the councilwoman respond last week to CityView reporter Evey Weisblat.
Yep, so much for this trip of goodwill to Saint-Avold — now a trip somewhat turned with more ill will than good.
Bill Kirby Jr. can be reached at billkirby49@gmail.com or 910-624-1961.
We’re in our third year of CityView Today, and so many of you have been with us from day one in our efforts to bring the news of the city, county, community and Cape Fear region each day. We’re here with a purpose — to deliver the news that matters to you. To sustain CityView Today’s reporting, we cannot do it without you, and hope you will become members of our team by giving your support. Click here to join.
This is why we can’t have nice things. Thanks for the story, will keep in mind next election!
How fortunate that along with getting a passport the council members who went didnt have to worry about a job not allowing them the time off to travel. What a privilege.
The only individuals showing “privilege” is the city council members who decided to do their own thing rather than spend their time engaging in discussion on ways that these two cities can benefit each other with economic and tourism opportunities. It seems that whenever someone is on the defense because they are wrong, the race card gets pulled out. Hmph….
Great story, Bill. Bottom line is, this is simply about proper representation and CCouncil went there on behalf of the city and primary for business, which is the primary focus. And OMG, This is NOT about race! That tells you that some will look for and find a scapegoat to simply avoid taking responsibility. That was simply uncalled for and not true , but it typically for some and not surprisingly. Race is some times a case but NOT IN THIS CASE. STOP IT ALREADY!
And yes, our group is one of many races, ethnicities.
We believe No one thought this would get out and now that it has, damage control, even it it means viscously attacking people( again typical behavior) and avoidance of responsibility. If we are wrong, we are just wrong.. Anyways,
. At the very least common sense should say “I’m going to go to every meeting and no one as to tell me nor do I have to look for an “out”. When we finish ALL meetings, free time will present itself. All of our CCouncil members are adults so let’s not point fingers because a PERSONAL decision had to made to NOT attend a meeting- period.
But some people lie, avoid taking responsibility for their wrong doing at any cost and simply will not take responsibility and ain’t sa, we missed it and be accountable as many often say the want. Some simply have no problem lying a lot and do/say anything to make themselves look good. Bill, can we ask St. Avoid how theCC’s absence mad them feel/appeared to them? Again, accept responsibility th at the ball was dropped, with no excuses, take accountability, learn from it, and simply do better. This likely won’t happen but we bet a nasty disparaging campaign of damage control will follow against everyone that agrees with your story … seems to be a norm.
Sorry St. Avold, for simply improper representation on our CCouncil’s part and likely making you feel slighted and under valued.
Thanks Bill Kirby, representation does really matters..
asking a few members of any district is a “far reach” to say constituents agreed they would’ve been the same. That’s just like saying “we talked to 30 people in a district about a topic and saying the”full” district is in full support of something… its simply not true.
We will continue to hold every elected official whether they are local, state or federal accountable, regardless,
Leave it to Benavente to hide behind skin hue to avoid any scrutiny as a public official. Bill Kirby will probabaly be labeled as a racist by him for having the audacity to question him on any of his public dealings. Thanks for documenting another incident and example of him stating falsehoods (alleged). Paul Woolverton had written an article on his untruthful comments previously. It appears to just be second nature with him and he continues to do so.
I would much rather read some reporting on the actual content of the trip, rather than scrutinizing a few hours of a trip. This sounds like a small chunk of time in the larger investment our City made for our councilmembers to go to our sister city. Seriously, why insistently divert the attention to this? Why not interview our councilmembers and ask what they learned on the trip? Ask how their trip is going to inform their service to our City? Because that is the actual matter at hand, not this grist for the rumor mill.
I think we would all rather read something about the positive outcomes of the trip but the councilmen made it about this one situation when they chose to deflect responsibility instead of apologize for their mistake and then slander the trip leaders.