Publisher's Note: There many who are running for local offices in the upcoming year. Their voices need to be heard. Those individuals wishing to reach out and be heard by the community have an open invitation to be heard in the Up & Coming Weekly. Simply reach out and send us an email to let us know you have something to say.

When I came to Fayetteville in 2008 as a wounded soldier assigned to the Wounded Warrior Project on Fort Bragg, I remember receiving several briefings that strongly advised us to refrain from visiting certain areas of the city and certain businesses due to their shady business practices.
I can remember receiving briefings from my commander during in-processing that warned me about the level of crime around the city. However, I do not remember ever getting a briefing that warned me about the level of corruption that could be found in Fayetteville City Hall, but man did I quickly learn as I got more and more involved in the Fayetteville community, just how much corruption there was. Everything from politicians creating so-called non-political taxpayer-funded organizations, to politicians attempting to cut side-deals with wealthy developers, to city leaders in cahoots with destructive criminal elements dedicated to destroying the very city that they swore an oath to protect and defend.

Fayetteville is no stranger to corruption and scandal within its ranks, as we have all either lived through or heard stories about "Fayette-Nam." But it seems this city has seen a more blatant element since Mitch Colvin took office as Mayor in 2017. All of us remember the dishonorable city councilman from District 2, Tyrone Williams, and everything that took place with him in 2018 when the "Prince Charles Gate" scandal rocked the city. Who knew that he would be the precursor of things to come during Colvin's term in office? Who knew that three years later, the mayor and top city officials, including City Manager Doug Hewett and Police Chief Gina Hawkins, would allow rioters, looters, Marxists and anarchists to destroy and pillage our beloved city unhindered, while ordering our sworn Fayetteville police officers to "stand down" while criminals ravaged our city.

Since 2017, the city of Fayetteville has been under the leadership of Colvin and our police department under the supervision and leadership (if you can call it that) of Hawkins, who came to Fayetteville by way of Atlanta, Georgia, in the same year. Since then, our police department has suffered tremendously under her leadership, and the citizens of Fayetteville have paid the price. We have a police department that is low on morale and high on egos, and I say enough is enough!
We have a mayor who feels that he is not answerable to the citizens of Fayetteville and who only seems to be concerned about his next business investment and how he can use his position to further enhance his economic fortune.

The city of Fayetteville and the Fayetteville Police Department have come a very long way from the '80s, and I refuse to allow our city to become another corrupt municipality like the town of Spring Lake. Fayetteville has witnessed a tremendous increase in violent crime over the past two years, and just this year alone, our city has been rocked by more than 40 homicides, and we are currently on track to double last year’s homicide rate, and unfortunately, we have even recently made the nation's top 100 list of the most dangerous cities, and there seems to be no end in sight.

As the holidays rapidly approach, we have more than 6000 families facing eviction in our community, due to a flawed, fractured and failing Emergency Rental Assistance Program. Fayetteville has recently been branded "America's Can-Do City" but, I have coined her "America's Can-Do Better City." The people of Fayetteville deserve and demand better from their leadership, which I intend to give them. Better. How do we "do better?" We start by removing the toxic leadership in the city. We un-handcuff our law enforcement professionals and allow them to do the jobs they swore an oath to do, and we empower and equip them to enforce the laws they swore to enforce. We identify the toxic rank-and-file within our law enforcement community and remove them immediately. We remove the unproductive and self-serving people within our city government and replace them with genuinely dedicated people who will dedicate themselves to the betterment of Fayetteville.

Fayetteville is a city that houses talent and potential, she is a city that inspires innovation and she is a city that embraces diversity. As the next Mayor of Fayetteville, I intend to build on the foundation and "Lead Fayetteville Forward," but that requires us to move forward together and lead with honesty, transparency, integrity, vision and foresight. I am J Antoine Miner. I am running for Mayor of Fayetteville. I am that leader.