Larry Clubine
Occupation: Substance abuse counselor
District you are running in: 5
Campaign Manager: Carin Savel Clubine
Daytime Phone Number:
910-401-2013
Address: 1312
Goodview Ave. Fayetteville, NC 28305
Campaign Email: larry@clubine4council.com
Campaign Website: http://www.clubine4council.com/
List most recent
political/community experience (provide dates): I served on the board of Fayetteville Parks
& Recreation from 2001 to 2005. As its Chairman, I guided the merger of the
city and county departments in 2005, creating the new Fayetteville-Cumberland
Parks & Recreation Department. I was honored to be elected the first Chairman
of the newly merged board. Today, the Parks & Rec Department serves as the
model of a successful union of city and county ideas, programs and personnel; I
still serve on the board.
I currently volunteer as the Vice-Chairman of the Downtown
Alliance, Chairman of Fayetteville’s Glory Days Memorial Day Celebration, and
Co-Chair of the Arts Council’s Silent Auction fundraiser. I also serve on the
board of Lafayette 250 Celebration.
What business/civic organizations are you associated with
(list leadership roles):
I am a member of
Victory United Methodist Church, where I have taught Sunday school and
currently serve on the Administrative Council and have coached youth baseball
at Kiwanis Recreation Center in Honeycutt Park. I am also a member of the Fayetteville
Museum of Art. Additionally, I have worked with Habitat for Humanity and
continue to volunteer with Urban Ministry and Operation-In-As-Much.
As a candidate, what are your top three policy issues?
First of all, our city wants energized, unified and
articulate leadership. We want leadership that works tirelessly for the growth
and development of our city’s economy, the safety and well-being of our
families, and the enhancement of our quality of life. I have the qualities
necessary to be such a leader.
Secondly, our city wants to look handsome, inviting and
ready for company. We want to protect the character of our neighborhoods, slow
down the speeders, provide more sidewalks, and make sure our parks wonderful
places to spend time. I pledge to work tirelessly to make our city clean,
green, and a safe place to live and work.
Finally, we want curbside recycling, more police on the
street, efficient public transportation, smart, successful downtown
investments, and wise management of our tax dollars. I will never stop working
to improve our quality of life.
What specific NEW initiative would you suggest for economic
growth in Fayetteville? How would it be implemented?
We need to update
our economic development plan, making sure all of our business owners and
leaders, civic organizations, elected officials and citizens have a voice in
the development. A key part of that plan must be a new emphasis on workforce
development. We have a wealth of hardworking citizens, who, with training and
education necessary for the skill sets of the 21st century workforce, can help
to make Fayetteville and Cumberland County attractive to stable, well-paying
businesses looking to locate in our community.
Can Fayetteville and Cumberland County successfully
consolidate/merge their governments? What would be the benefits/problems of
consolidating the two into one?
I have experience
with city-county department consolidation. I was appointed to the committee
that developed the plan to consolidate the city and county parks and recreation
departments. What we ultimately did was less than full consolidation. Under our
arrangement, the County has contracted with the City to manage the County Parks
and Recreation Program, with funding from the Park District Tax. Also, we
combined our Parks and Recreation Advisory Commissions. Half the members are
now appointed by the city council and half by the county commission.
Experience tells me there are some functions of city and
county government where consolidation would clearly work. I favor studying the
merger concept further; we should continue the process already begun by a
citizen-led group.
What do you believe to be the city council’s greatest
accomplishments and disappointments in the last two years?
I believe that Council’s greatest accomplishments are the
opening of Festival Park, the Cape Fear River Trail, 300 Block Hay Street,
preparation for BRAC, an ordinance as a first step to protecting the character
of our neighborhoods, taking the first giant step towards a curbside recycling program,
and pay raises for city employees-- including police officers and firemen.
We need to find a salve for the racial divisions in the wake
of 6/3 and address the absence of finding a win-win strategy to protect neighborhoods
while giving developers the tools to build profitably. And we haven’t made
significant progress in developing along the Cape Fear River.
How should the city best leverage the impact of the BRAC
process?
Working with the CCBC, we should develop a plan as part
of our economic development strategy that seeks to increase our tax base by
bringing defense related industries and jobs, and military families to our
community. We need to work diligently for our continued economic development
and a better life for ourselves and for our community, so we are more
attractive and appealing to others. By being the best that we can become, our
job of leveraging BRAC becomes one of simply telling others who we are as a
community.
How the city council and the business community can work
more effectively to build a better workforce?
A better workforce begins at home--with sound family
values, support of our churches and faith community, and quality education.
Well-educated children are our best natural resource for our future workforce.
We have a strong community college and university system in place to afford
better opportunities for our students, and we must pursue expanded community
relationships with our educational institutions. Continuing to build constructive
relations with the military will ensure our soldiers call Fayetteville ‘home’
when they return from active duty. We must also continue to support programs
that leverage our exiting military to harness the education and skills
necessary to expand our workforce for existing and potential businesses.
What would you do to work cooperatively with the other
members of the city council?
Whatever good I've accomplished has come from being a
part of a team--a team of dedicated people who share a common goal of doing
things better. There is nothing that can be accomplished on City Council
autonomously, and I intend to work tirelessly to generate consensus among my
fellow council members so the best ideas are heard, discussed and enacted. I am
confident I can bring the vital leadership, integrity, and critically-needed
consensus to help make the right decisions on the Fayetteville City Council.
