Editors note: Port City Daily reached out to all nine Wilmington City Council candidates for responses to the same eight questions. A full list of candidate interviews, with links, is available at the end of this article.
With all the growth happening in Wilmington and the announcement of new major developments, what do you think is the best way to accommodate the new residents, without paving over every bit of green space in the city?
With hastily planned developments popping up on Military Cutoff, Carolina Beach and Independence, we unfortunately see a pattern of suburban sprawl in Wilmington. These developments are increasing traffic and bulldozing what little green space we have left — green space which is vital not only for our quality of life, but for stormwater remediation.
Here’s the thing: Wilmington hasn’t fully realized the value of its center — the Northern Riverfront, the Brooklyn Arts District, the Soda Pop District and the area emerging around Castle Street. These are neighborhoods that are already walkable, that inherently have good bones. We ought to be investing in the vacant land that’s inside of the greater downtown, those post-industrial areas that sit empty. We could reach out as far as the Carolina Beach Road corridor and Sunset Park, as well as the intersection of Dawson, Wooster and 17th. If we increase density in our greater downtown, we decrease traffic, create a thriving downtown that will attract businesses and jobs, and preserve our green spaces.
How can the City of Wilmington help alleviate traffic concerns, specifically on major roadways that are already overburdened?
If we focus our development towards the city’s center, we promote walkability and decrease traffic. If we focus our development towards urban mixed-use principles, we promote walkability and decrease traffic. It’s that simple. According to the most recent data from the North Carolina Department of Transportation, Carolina Beach Road is one of the most dangerous roads in New Hanover County. And yet, our city is moving forward with The Woodlands at Echo Farms, which will add hundreds of homes and apartments—and hundreds of cars—to Carolina Beach Road. When a group like Save Echo Farms comes forward with concerns about increased traffic and overcrowded schools, we need to be listening to them — not bulldozing their opinions and their green spaces in favor of hasty development.
What are your goals you hope to achieve if elected to office?
I will work tirelessly to increase affordable housing opportunities and prevent gentrification through inclusive zoning. I will refocus our development toward the greater downtown, decreasing traffic and preserving our green spaces. I will utilize technology to make our bus systems efficient, comfortable and attractive to choice riders, whose revenue would help to support larger improvements and expanded routes.
I will reach out to New Hanover, Brunswick and Pender counties to come together to address the opioid crisis — because, while the problem is everywhere, the majority of treatment programs are within city limits. In order to battle this heartbreaking epidemic, we have to come together and work as a community. I will support our nonprofits, who are the backbone of our community and working every day to create an equal and equitable city. I will listen to the innovators within our community who currently do not have a voice on the council.
On the whole, my goal is to bring new ideas and proactive policies to Wilmington.
What are your three biggest concerns with the City of Wilmington, and how do you plan to address them?
My primary concern is development. And that’s because it’s truly at the core of most of Wilmington’s problems. If we decrease suburban sprawl and revitalize our city’s center, we decrease traffic. Our city becomes more attractive to outside businesses and tourists. We preserve our greenspaces. If we push for required inclusionary zoning and other incentives for developers, we increase the stock of affordable housing—homes and apartments where our teachers, police officers, firefighters and service workers can afford to live and don’t have to pinch pennies to just get by.
Traffic and parking is another large concern for me. Traffic projects take 10-20 years to complete, so if we’re going to invest in new infrastructure, we ought to be considering the future that infrastructure will serve. In the last few years, we’ve seen how Uber and Lyft have revolutionized the way we travel and decreased the need for personal vehicles, and that shared economy is only going to grow. But the main mitigator for traffic is a better public transportation system. Our citizens want better bus systems, more bike routes — not high speed traffic through neighborhoods designed to be residential. When our parking decks sit empty 70 percent of the time, do we really need more of them, or do we need to be creating park and rides and bettering WAVE Transit?
And all of the above relates to my third concern: our natural environment. Over development paves over our natural beauty, the quality that sets Wilmington apart from other southern cities. If we don’t recognize the value of our trees, parks, and green spaces, we do not create a sustainable future for our city. We’ve seen what happens when we ignore something as essential as the quality of our water. I will strive for better, and I’m proud to say that I have been officially endorsed by the Sierra Club.
What is your opinion on the opioid epidemic? How can city leaders not only address the issue (because it has been talked about at length) but take some sort of action against the crisis?
The way I see it, addiction is a disease. And the cities that treat addiction as such have much better results than those that treat it as a punishable offense. Luckily, Wilmington is already facing this head-on with the city’s adoption of the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) program, which diverts those individuals suffering from addiction away from the criminal justice system and into treatment programs. This saves the taxpayers money by reducing the economic burden that comes along with addiction, since treatment programs across the country are less costly and more effective than incarceration. But more than that, it saves lives, and it saves families.
Our city is blessed with numerous treatment centers, nonprofits, and churches that provide treatment, twelve-step meetings, and recovery residences. This crisis affects the entire community, and will therefore take a community-wide effort to combat it. However, this crisis is so much larger than Wilmington. All of southeastern North Carolina is being affected. We have to start reaching out to our neighboring municipalities to join this fight. There are few recovery residences in Brunswick County and none in Pender County, which has banned them within its limits. If our tri-county region is expected to double in the coming years, those who need treatment and recovery services in Brunswick and Pender Counties will flood into Wilmington, straining our resources and reducing our ability to truly help those in need. This is about coalition building, and understanding that we cannot fight this battle without coming together and addressing the crisis holistically: treating the whole person (their addiction, their mental health, their need and right for shelter and sustenance) and treating the whole region.
What do you do professionally, and would there be any conflict of interest with you serving the City of Wilmington?
I am a Staff Accountant for Earney & Company LLP. In my professional career, I specialize in individual and business tax accounting, specifically helping families and small businesses to grow and be successful. In doing so, I adhere to an ethical code of conduct, not only because I don’t want my clients to get audited, but also because it’s the right thing to do. I will bring those same ethics to the city council. I currently do not have any conflicts of interest, and if one were to arise, I would recuse myself immediately.
I have no business dealings that could be benefited or hurt by the decisions of the city council. I have no more of an equitable interest in the growth of Wilmington than anyone else you might pass on the street. Here’s how I might benefit by being on the city council: By helping to create a Wilmington where our citizens want to raise their children, and where those children would like to stay.
What previous experience do you have serving the public, if any?
I have been involved in community activism, canvassing for the Stop Titan group and volunteering with the Wrightsville Beach Clean Sweep. I helped put the “green” back in Shakespeare on the Green by developing a comprehensive recycling program. I am a member of the New Hanover County NAACP, and I currently serve as the treasurer of Cape Fear Ultimate.
Since I was five years old, I have been involved in the local theatre and film communities, performing with the Cape Fear Shakespeare Youth Company, Thalian Association Children’s Theatre, Journey Productions, and Cape Fear Shakespeare. In all four organizations, I have gone on to give back to new generations of entertainers, working for the last ten years as a
performance educator in various capacities, directing and mentoring area youth. I have also taught theatre performance at Peace Rose Montessori School, and have mentored high school students with their senior projects.
Given the concerns with GenX, do you think it is time to reevaluate how the CFPUA Board is appointed?
I think we should always be reevaluating the way we appoint boards. I am a strong proponent of citizen involvement and discussion. To truly engage with the public, learn from them, and serve them, we need groups like the CFPUA to hold their public meetings during a time which the public can attend. Currently the CFPUA meets at 9:00am the second Wednesday of each month. I would love to see them change the time so that our Wilmington and New Hanover County Citizens can better be involved in the discussion.
You can find the full list of Wilmington City Council candidate interview below:
