Your Vote, Your Voice: Be Heard

Contrary to popular belief, Jack McMullan did give us a teachable moment--petitions do not work. The only way you can send a message to elected officials is to vote them out of office. The other day, there were several citizens protesting the madness that was taking place in the City of Lumberton. The journey of a thousand miles begin with one step, and they have taken the first step. Next, we must realize that those serving in Lumberton, namely Bobby Gibson and Timothy Johnson, do not take us seriously. So, it time to do something to get their attention. In order for them to realize that we are serious about change in Lumberton, our next move is to make sure Ben Winston is not elected to a second term as District 2 Supervisor. Tim and Bobby are not part of the solution, they are part of the problem and everything they're doing at city hall is done with the blessing of their leader, Ben Winston. You might be wondering why I'm linking Ben Winston with Bobby Gibson and Timothy Johnson. . Well, let me explain. Over the last few months, Ben Winston has used his business partner (Bobby Gibson) and son-in-law/employee (Timothy Johnson) to avoid paying a $3,000 fine for storing trailers on a sect of property that was not zoned for storage. Last time I checked, the trailers that were stored on Ben Winston's property were selling for $3,995.00. He could have easily paid the fine and requested a variance, but that would have required him to do the right thing. Instead, he called on his associates, and they broke every law and ordinance they could possibly imagine in order to rid Ben Winston of this $3,000.00 fine. Tim Johnson and Bobby Gibson plotted with Becky and Kent and together they broke the local law (Ordinance 187) as well as state law (17-1-11) and ended the Lumberton Planning and Zoning Committee just because Ben Winston didn't want to pay a $3,000 fine. In addition to violating local and state laws, they put an end to the city's comprehensive plan (a plan that took three years to complete and cost the citizens of Lumberton $35,000, but that doesn't matter because they wanted to make sure Ben Winston wasn't fined $3,000). Where's the logic and how is this showing any fiduciary responsibility to the citizens of Lumberton?
It's time for us to put an end to this madness, and make sure that Ben Winston and his crew are never elected to serve again. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't vote for them if they were running in a marathon. Ben Winston, Bobby Gibson, and Timothy Johnson have left us politically bankrupt. Unfortunately, we must file Chapter 13 because we don't have any assets worth saving. Remember that petitions don't work. . the only message they understand is your vote to send them home. I don't know who's planning on running in the next election in Lumberton, but the candidates need to start throwing their hats in the ring now! Where is Terry Cannaday. . he needs to run for office again. At this point, I would welcome Larry Strahan's return to politics if he would seek election as Alderman of Ward 4 (he lives in Ward 4, he received the majority of his votes in 2008 from Ward 4 and at least with Strahan, we would know what we're dealing with.) This is Lumberton, not Vegas and we're not sitting at the roulette table. In the past, we placed our bets on black (Ben Winston, Bobby Gibson and Tim Johnson) and we lost. Time to get some new players in the game.