The Kinston City Council race may not have as much drama as the mayoral race does. Still, what the race lacks in flair, it more than makes up in volume.
In Kinston’s first nonpartisan city council race, voters will have the option to choose between eight candidates — Teddra Hussey-Smith, Marc McKnight, Adrien Meadows, John Nix, Lennie Peterson, Robbie Swinson, Carol Ann Tokarski and Wynn Whittington — for two open seats.
Arguably, Nix — who unsuccessfully ran for a city council position in 2011 — created the biggest buzz with his announcement, deciding to file one hour before the Lenoir County Board of Elections’ deadline. He had originally decided not to run for a council seat, telling The Free Press on June 17 of his plans.
His change of mind, though, came from what he had seen in candidates.
“I stepped away, maybe 30 to 40 days prior to the race, hoping other candidates would step up, while I stayed busy with my business and work in organizations,” Nix said. “I didn’t see anyone with real business experience and I thought could represent for private sector, so I decided to step in and run.”
Nix hasn’t posted a position statement, but said he feels like he wants the same thing as the community.
“I feel we all want safe streets and to feel safe in our homes,” Nix said. “For me, I have children, family, business and invested interests here. I’d like to see economy progress more and I’m very involved with tourism aspect in promoting downtown Kinston. It’s best to try to nurture and take care of existing infrastructure, making that a priority. I would like to see barriers reduced toward business development and make the city more attractive.
Hussey-Smith — an Episcopal priest and supply priest for Diocese of East Carolina — is seeking unity and contributions from all residents of Kinston.
“My platform is based on empowering the community to mobilize,” Hussey-Smith said. “In doing this, hopefully jobs will become available, we can raise the economy and restore all communities, not just one side.”
Whittington — best known for his roles as a principal, teacher, associate athletic director and athletic director at Kinston High School — is focused on trying to keep the city strong and attract interest.
“My platform is about continuous improvement,” Whittington said. “The city of Kinston and the council are working well to advance and bring jobs to city. We’ve got to continue to make improvements to our infrastructure and capital projects need to happen. Kinston is a great place to work and raise families, and we need to do things to get people here, attract more business and jobs.”
Whittington also said his experience, not just in the schools, would be beneficial to the citizens of Kinston.
“Besides being an educator and principal, I’ve spent 23 years in military and am currently a chief petty officer in U.S. Coast Guard Reserves,” Whittington said. “I’ll bring this leadership to the city council and I know I’ll represent everyone fairly and equitably. I’m not afraid to ask tough questions to get the results we need in Kinston.”
McKnight — a retired administrative computer technician for Lenoir County Schools — wants to give candidates assurance if elected to the city council.
“My platform is about the non partisan race, jobs, utility bills, taxes and transparent local government,” McKnight said. “The citizens can depend and rely on me. I have an open door policy; I’ll return phone calls and have meetings with them on any issue that faces the city.”
Meadows — who initially filed for mayor before focusing toward city council — is the youngest candidate at 25.
“My platform is: ‘Taking the initiative; taking the responsibility’,” Meadows said in a statement to The Free Press on Wednesday. “We have to take the responsibility of correcting the issues at hand. Everybody is waiting for somebody to do something. I might as well be that somebody.”
He said he’s asked often what he will do for Kinston.
“Out of all the answers I’ve given, the God-honest truth is nothing,” Meadows said. “I wouldn’t be able to do anything without the people. There are some that see Kinston as a business, but we are not. We’re a community of great and amazing people. If we want to attract more people to our home, we have to make some changes and start believing in ourselves.”
Two candidates — Tokarski and Peterson — did not return multiple calls to The Free Press Tuesday or Wednesday. Swinson, the race’s lone incumbent, was in a Greenville hospital for a procedure on Tuesday and was unavailable for comment on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Junious Smith III can be reached at 252-559-1077 and Junious.Smith@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JuniousSmithIII.