It’s time to reclaim Kinston from the powerbrokers
Kinston voters can shape the city’s future Tuesday by exercising a right unknown in many parts of the world casting a ballot.
This city is at a crossroads. One path can take us toward more of the same: more backroom deals, more approvals of plans that only line the pockets of others, more steps toward the edge of oblivion.
The other path, although strewn with obstacles, offers the opportunity to fulfill the promise Kinston has always had: the chance to lead Eastern North Carolina into the next decade.
Leadership requires energy and vision. It also requires courage the courage to buck the powers that have held this city back for the past 30 or 40 years.
If Americans were reluctant to challenge authority, this country never would have had the Boston Tea Party, the American Revolution or the civil rights movement. We never would have had people like Benjamin Franklin, Richard Caswell, Martin Luther King or Rosa Parks.
Only those who hold power shrink from change only those who fear losing control have the most to lose.
On Tuesday, voters can retake the city in which they have chosen to live and raise their families. It will be as simple as choosing a bright, honest young man with a clear vision of tomorrow.
B.J. Murphy is that young man. He has placed his future in jeopardy by challenging the powerbrokers of Kinston and he has done it because he believes fervently in you and me and every resident of this city.
Murphy’s campaign obviously has resonated with his opponent, who now is picking up on the promises made by the young candidate: to promote the city’s vast potential for historic tourism and to work toward finding a way to get us some relief from the ElectriCities mess.
Murphy isn’t promising to cure all our problems. He isn’t presenting himself as a dose of penicillin for Kinston’s ills. He is promising, however, to admit the city has problems and to put his nose to the grindstone in an effort to find solutions.
His opponent has accused Murphy of playing "ugly" in this campaign. Nothing could be further from the truth. A devout Christian, Murphy has been open and honest in every aspect of his campaign. He has not flung accusations at his opponent. Instead, he has asked time and again for a forum in which his opponent could answer charges made by others. Nothing could be more fair than giving an opponent the chance to refute untrue allegations if, in fact, they are untrue.
Instead of taking that opportunity, supporters of Murphy’s opponent have gone to houses displaying Murphy for Mayor signs, shown them a copy of a letter in which Murphy enumerated allegations made by others, and attributed them to Murphy.
Now, who is playing ugly?
Kinston deserves more than politics-as-usual and that will happen only if this city’s voters demand a change when they go to the voting booth Tuesday.
We encourage residents to exercise their own courage and reclaim this city from the powerbrokers who have paralyzed it for too long. Elect B.J. Murphy to be Kinston’s next mayor. |
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