Kathy Keefe Jensen, who has served four terms on the Fayetteville City Council and is mayor pro tem, is running for reelection to represent District 1. Her challenger is Alex Rodriguez, a political newcomer who said he decided to run for office because he thinks Fayetteville is headed in the wrong direction on crime, pollution and economic development.
Jensen, 57, is a business owner who was born and raised in Fayetteville.
Rodriguez, 48, is a retired Army officer and former police officer who now works as a Department of the Army security officer.
The municipal election is July 26. Early voting is underway at the Cumberland County Board of Elections Office.
CityView TODAY asked the candidates for City Council and mayor questions about several issues facing the community. These are their answers, which have been edited for style and grammar.
Age: 57
Occupation: Business owner (35 years)
Elected offices held: City Council representative District 1
Crime in the city continues to rise, according to a recent report on the first quarter of 2022 by Police Chief Gina Hawkins to the City Council. Are city officials — and specifically, the police chief and the Police Department — doing enough to address crime? If not, what should they do differently?
Yes, is there room for improvement, there always is. The Police Department, City Council and citizens have collaborated together in the micro-grant programs. We have invested in technology such as cameras and license plate readers. We are seeing the positive effects of the collaboration. We now have to work with the judicial system and have a plan for our repeat offenders.
Record numbers of officers have left and are leaving our police force. Many are underpaid and feel they don’t have the support of their leaders. What is your plan to correct this serious issue?
Right now, in our nation, it is not a popular profession to be a police officer. Retention is a major concern. When cities all over the country were defunding the police, here in Fayetteville, N.C., we increased our budget for our Police Department. It takes a strong individual to be a police officer in this day and age, and the City Council approved budgets for pay raises, benefits, cash bonus for sign-on, retention and referrals. As of last month, we were down less than 8% for officers. We want to make sure our Police Department has all the tools it needs to help (keep) our city safe. Fayetteville’s budget consists of more than 50% toward public safety.
Affordable housing continues to be an issue for many in our community. The City Council decided to earmark part of its American Rescue Plan Act funding to address housing issues. What else can the city do to help residents find safe, affordable housing?
The City Council has voted to bring a GO Bond to the voters in November, part is a housing bond. If passed, it will bring $12M to help with affordable housing (teachers, public safety employees, etc). We as a council have reviewed our UDO codes and landscape requirements to help developers not have unnecessary barriers to build much-needed housing.
A review of Fayetteville’s traffic stops shows they totaled over 70,000 in 2016 and less than 22,000 last year. There are still problems with speeding, red light violations and other traffic issues. Was there a conscious decision made to ban minor traffic stops, and if so by whom? Are you concerned about the decrease in stops and what should the city do about it?
As a mother, business owner and City Council member, traffic safety is very important to me. I will continue to support law enforcement on our streets and highways. City Council just lowered the speed limits on Country Club and Cliffdale Roads.
Fayetteville has seen some economic news in recent months with the new Amazon distribution center and other business announcements. What does city leadership need to do to increase jobs in our community? What city resources need to be devoted to this cause?
Because of the resources that the city has invested, we are seeing these results. The city and county set up the Fayetteville Cumberland Economic Commission and got serious about public and private partnerships. With the leadership of Robert Van Geons and elected leadership, high education leadership and the private sector, we are moving Fayetteville forward with new industry that is building our tax base. Public safety, economic development and quality of life go hand in hand.
Age: 48
Occupation: Security officer, Department of the Army
Elected offices held: None
Crime in the city continues to rise, according to a recent report on the first quarter of 2022 by Police Chief Gina Hawkins to the City Council. Are city officials — and specifically, the police chief and the Police Department — doing enough to address crime? If not, what should they do differently?
No, they are not doing enough to combat the increase in crime. They need to aggressively enforce traffic regulations and increase traffic stops, which are down 70% during Chief (Gina) Hawkins's tenure, this will lead to an increase in arrests for drugs, outstanding warrants and illegal firearms.
Record numbers of officers have left and are leaving our police force. Many are underpaid and feel they don’t have the support of their leaders. What is your plan to correct this serious issue?
Replacing the police chief, who has introduced a toxic environment of micromanagement and political correctness into the Police Department. Aggressively recruit from Basic Law Enforcement Training (BLET) programs from community colleges throughout the state. Return the hiring decisions to a four-person hiring panel instead of directly from the chief, which can lead to nepotism in the ranks.
Affordable housing continues to be an issue for many in our community. The City Council decided to earmark part of its American Rescue Plan Act funding to address housing issues. What else can the city do to help residents find safe, affordable housing?
As Fayetteville is a transient community, work with real estate and property management organizations to improve the advertising of rental and available properties throughout the county.
A review of Fayetteville’s traffic stops shows they totaled over 70,000 in 2016 and less than 22,000 last year. There are still problems with speeding, red light violations and other traffic issues. Was there a conscious decision made to ban minor traffic stops, and if so by whom? Are you concerned about the decrease in stops and what should the city do about it?
Yes, Chief Hawkins catered to the politically correct “woke” crowd and ordered the reduction in traffic stops. This has led to a decrease in arrests, drug enforcement and, of course, traffic citations and fines that can increase revenue to the city and Police Department.
Fayetteville has seen some economic news in recent months with the new Amazon distribution center and other business announcements. What does city leadership need to do to increase jobs in our community? What city resources need to be devoted to this cause?
Continue to incentivize businesses by freezing or reducing property and sales taxes. Tax breaks for local employment as well as improving the safety in and around business areas.
