“Your Fifteen Minutes are Up!” A New Rocky Mount Is At Hand

In high school, one of the defining moments of my life was when I was given this admonition, to those much is given, much is expected.  This admonition when applied to our city council and officials in Rocky Mount, NC has led to disappointment and a lack of complete faith and trust, and now investigations into graft and corruption.

We’ve got serious problems, and we need serious people. 

Do you remember these lines from the movie, The American President? Michael Douglas also tells the character, Bob Rumson,  YOUR FIFTEEN MINUTES ARE UP! 

Rocky Mount is no longer a place you drive through on the way to somewhere else but a destination in and of itself. The city will always be cherished for the days filled with nostalgic memories and good people; an illustrious list of leadership provided by men and women with a moral compass, a philanthropic heart, filled with prayer and good deeds. We still need these qualities, but also the certainty of expertise in the business realm and the management of diverse professionals whose bottom line is productivity and outcome.

In a relatively short time, six years, since moving here, there is now a level of sophistication and business acumen needed like never before.  We’ve all been told at one time or another, Be careful what you wish for. With a lot of hard work and foresight, we’ve got what we wished for. Millions of dollars and over 1000 jobs just from Triangle Tyre Co, Pfizer, and CSX.  There are new small businesses and new investors arriving every day. What The Mill alone has brought to the community is changing our lives.

There is no room for people trying to hold us back. The community has had enough of those focused on personal gain, who continue to tell poor people it’s someone else’s fault that they remain in poverty and live in terrible housing. These same Councilmen and insiders continue to profit by keeping the economic conditions suppressed, which help when applying for grants. These same few (who care so much) and want affordable housing on Tarboro Street care little for the conditions of their own low income/workforce constituents.

This kind of leadership is not remotely equipped to deal with the new Rocky Mount. Infamous members of the city council usually under attack didn’t attend the CSX ribbon cutting. They don’t welcome this change, nor do they have the skills to handle it, they only want to control what they have managed to take at the taxpayer’s expense.  The good citizens of Rocky Mount are addressing these new times on social media with a turn towards positive, unifying objectives. Love Rocky Mount Facebook Page has sprung up to serve as a moral compass hoping to lead us away from racial rhetoric and unexamined ideas that members of the Council fall back on when questioned or criticized.

These times call for new competent, trusted business-minded leadership who have the talent and experience, and are equipped to lead the new Rocky Mount. That change must happen at the polls in October. PS: I’m not sure if Mr. Joyner is running for his appointed seat and or if Mr. Cummingham has made up his mind. Stay tuned on this Ward.

KEVIN JONES RUNNING FOR MAYOR