On the ballot, District 3: Mark Stevens
By From staff reports
Published in News on October 28, 2015 1:46 PM
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Mark Stevens
Q: Why do you want to be on the Goldsboro City Council?
A: I think that I can affect change inside of District 3 because I see a lot of disparity inside of District 3. I want to affect change with the dilapidated homes that are there. I would like to bring in new jobs and higher-wage paying jobs. I also would like to work and bridge a gap with the board of education and to make new educational and recreational outlets for the youth of District 3.
Also I would like to make sure that the seniors voices are being heard throughout the city.
Q: What government experience do you have? If you don't have government experience, what are your qualifications?
A: I really don't have any governmental or political background. But I have worked in the art field, and I have helped hire ranking seats from a senior artist to art director. I worked at Electronic Arts (gaming software company) doing game development and art design, and I managed teams of 20 and 40 men and women. You come together and work on whatever problems the company is having.
Also when I was in school at the Art Institute of California in Los Angeles I was working with the student council there. We came together as group that made animated shorts and so forth.
I also worked with Nickelodeon and traveled the world. I was learning how to handle teams.
Those are the things that I think I can bring to the city of Goldsboro -- my knowledge of being worldwide and understanding of how government and things work not just in our country, but all over the world.
Q: The City Council has designated four major issues it intends to tackle in the coming years:
* Greenways and pathways around the city, both maintenance of existing systems and bringing new ones to Goldsboro.
A: There are greenways inside of District 3 that are really well kept, and then there are greenways that look like they are not really well kept. So I want to try to work with the city planning to know what areas that need to be effectively worked on and bring those areas up.
There are new greenways going out toward Wayne Community College. I'd like to work with the city councilmen to make the whole city look like it is all one together instead of one area looks different from another area.
* Continue to invest in downtown.
A: I believe that downtown has been invested in very well right now. We still have Streetscape going on. I'd like to see it completed. I hear a lot of complaints from citizens from District 1, District 2, District 3 and District 4, most the district trying to get downtown districts -- employees and people who have businesses downtown. It is a mess so I would like to have Streetscape completed and see what businesses it is going to drive.
As far as investing more money into downtown, I think that once Streetscape is finished, and has brought the standards of downtown up, I would like to look at the buildings and try to bring them up to code making them ADA compliant for everyone with disabilities. I would like to invest in downtown more, but I would like see what Streetscape is going to do and how much revenue is going drive for the businesses downtown first before I would invest more in downtown.
* Develop the city's parks and recreation department.
A: Parks and recreation is another staple of my platform -- to bring new recreational outlets for the youths for District 3 and throughout the whole city.
We had within District 3 W.A. Foster, and now it has been moved out of District 3.
So we need to look at that space and see what other recreational avenues we can build and centers we can build for our youths and activities we can make available and accessible for our youths.
* Combat blight throughout the city.
A: As far as from what I have seen in my district and in District 4 there are homes from the 1900s, late 1800s that need to be, not torn down, but refurbished to the point that people can live in them. I would like, since the city does have funds allocated for renovating and redoing homes, I would like to work with the committee that is handling those funds.
If we can't find a way to do so, let's tear them down and rebuild them up for future generations. I still need to research that, but those are things that I would like to do.
Q: As for the budget, are there things you would like to see cut, increased or added?
A: As far as the city budget for last year I have taken a look at it, but as far as the new city budget I have not seen it. So I cannot answer you on that.
But what I can answer you on, I would like certain funds that I think could be reallocated to our firemen and also our police department to bring in new officers. I also think some funds could have been reallocated for helping out parks and recreation to make new avenues for our youths.
Q: What do you think the city needs to do to help curb the violence, particularly shootings, that seems to be escalating?
A: I heard that we should take the cuffs off of the police to the point not to where they become vigilantes, I don't believe in vigilantes. I think what our duties are as councilmen are to talk with our citizens and constituents and understand what their problems are, hear their nuisance calls, understand where the problems lie and bring those issues to the chief of police and to the sheriff.
As well as work with the community to make a citizenwide committee to address the problems that are going on in these areas because unfortunately the citizens are scared to go outside in certain areas.
So the best way to work with that is to also make the citizens accountable to what is going on.
If you know these things are being moved into your area then become part of this committee and address the City Council and say these are the things going on here.
Then bring those issues and problems to the police department. We should all work together.