Political newcomer Deno Hondros is challenging Councilwoman Yvonne Kinston for the City Council District 9 seat.
Both are Fayetteville natives.
And public safety and government transparency rank among the top issues for the two candidates.
Hondros, 45, is a commercial real estate broker.
Kinston, 53, was first elected to the council in 2019. She is a sales and service agent for AT&T and executive vice president of the 530-member Communications Workers of America Local 3680 branch.
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. Here are their answers.
Age: 45
Occupation: Realtor
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?
We "can do" better supporting our law enforcement and first responders by giving them the training and resources they need so that they are able to provide their necessary services effectively and efficiently. We must not look the other way and enforce our current laws. We must do better; we "can do" better.
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?
Public safety is a high priority for many citizens. While we as a city have made positive strides in equitable and comparable pay for our officers, we have an opportunity to do even better. Filling vacancies and retaining officers is a national challenge, and Fayetteville is certainly not immune. My understanding from the most recent report from our mayor and police chief is that by month's end our vacancy rate (for budgeted positions) will be 7%, which is certainly a better position than most. That being said, we "can do" better and must do better.
Morale is an equal and perhaps even more critical issue. I have served on various boards and committees and our Police Department is certainly not alone in not having the best morale. My experience has been numerous city departments suffer from low morale. Generally speaking, attitude reflects leadership. Whether in the private sector or public sector, when morale is low we must look at our leaders. They should have a pulse of their team(s) and their respective department(s). This is not necessarily an indictment on those individuals; however, they must be able to identify the root cause(s) of negativity and rectify those situation(s), and/or hold those responsible accountable. In turn, those leaders must be rewarded for their ability to address and correct those issues or be held accountable themselves for their lack thereof.
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?
Workforce housing is a high priority for me. I believe everyone should be afforded the opportunity to live where they labor. Municipalities (and government(s) at all levels) are not always the solutions to all of our problems. The city does not always have to reinvent the wheel. In the private sector, we have partners who remain ready, willing and able to bring more affordable housing to market. I believe we as a city would be wise to foster an environment where more public/private partnerships can come to fruition. This environment can be fostered through various programs and grants. Another avenue that is worthy of exploration is land trusts. There are various funding and/or ownership models that can be researched. We can find the models with the best results, and which suit Fayetteville best.
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 with the previous question above regarding crime, we "can do" better supporting our law enforcement and first responders by giving them the training and resources they need so that they are able to provide their necessary services effectively and efficiently. We must not look the other way and enforce our current laws. I will not get into any speculation regarding any order not (to) enforce traffic laws although the numbers suggest that may be a possibility. Enforce our current laws, train and equip our personnel so that they are exceptional, and then allow our great officers to provide the services they were trained to provide. We must do better; we "can do" better.
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?
As a Fayetteville native, I often say our greatest strength is our diversity. I also believe our greatest asset is our people. I love the continuous addition of new programs at FTCC, FSU, Methodist, and even Pembroke and Campbell. We must continue to create new programs and forge new partnerships with our local schools that are accessible to our residents, the military community and beyond. We must continue to make strides with quality of life issues.
Public safety — as we've previously discussed, if a city is not safe and/or if residents do not feel safe, then that negatively impacts economic development.
Housing — we also previously discussed workforce housing. Currently, it is estimated that our nation is approximately 5.5 million housing units short in supply. Locally it is estimated we are approximately 20,000 housing units short.
Calm cooperative leadership — we "can do" better handling disagreements when they arise. As many residents know, our City Council meetings can be viewed on Spectrum 7 and replayed on Youtube. Many of these large employers we often try to recruit are often considering multiple sites in various locales. Prudently, they view various factors, including but not limited to project cost(s), available employee/talent pool, housing, quality of life amenities, etc. Another factor many of these companies will review is they will view local city and/or county meetings to see how that governing body conducts its business. While a disorganized and/or chaotic meeting or body may not be "the" reason said company chooses an alternate site, it often is "a" factor. When looking to invest tens or hundreds of millions of dollars in a community, more often than not, they tend to be very thorough in their due diligence.
To recap, we need to train and retain our talented workforce, we must foster a safe environment for our residents by supporting our first responders, we must foster an environment for adequate housing, and we must demonstrate to our residents and industry(ies) we are recruiting alike that we can govern in a logical, respectable, rational and respectful way as we make Fayetteville first.
Age: 52
Occupation: Sales and service agent
Elected offices held: Fayetteville City Council District 9
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?
This question might be a bit biased.
The crime numbers have increased in the United States as a whole. Unfortunately, we have seen the effects this has had on our city. The Police Department as a whole cannot stop crime from occurring. As a community, we need to work on “community policing,” with being proactive before crimes occur. Getting to the root cause of some of the issues and concerns. Change the behavior with programs that will educate ways to reduce crime.
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?
Without knowing the reason(s) police officers have left and not having that information directly via Fayettville’s HR Department, I cannot comment on all the reasons officers have left. I will say since coming on to council, I have pushed for wage gap studies to verify the need for additional funds to not only officers but all employees.
I believe this is a further discussion that would need to be addressed with leadership as a whole to get a better understanding of the issues. I am not one to respond without facts. As a union member and officer, it is always my goal to promote a work environment that would assist in longevity.
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?
Continue to work with partnerships to build in areas that are not land-locked. Enacting policy and program improvement that will assist with home repairs to avoid blighted homes and add them to available inventory.
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?
I was not informed or part of any conversation to ban minor traffic stops, if that is what was communicated to I am unaware of that circumstance. My concern is for the safety of any residents driving in Fayetteville or on any N.C. DOT (Department of Transportation) street in the area. I have focused on reducing speed limits in areas of concern and was able to have three areas completed this term. Including pushing more resources to aid in safety methods.
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?
Over the last two years, the Fayetteville City Council has done a wonderful job with business announcements, bringing companies to the area that were willing to pay a living wage to employees. With our partnership with our school, community college and universities, we can produce the workforce needed to support the needs of potential companies looking to come to Fayetteville.
