November 10,1993
Campus Opinion
2
Editorial: Mayor Fetzer
by Nina Me Clellan
I was disturbed last week when I
read the Wednesday morning edition
of the News and Observer. Actually,
these days I’m usually disturbed by
what 1 read in the newspaper. What
I read on this particular day was a
map, showing by precinct who had
voted for Fetzer, and who had voted
for Herget. The city of Raleigh was
practically divided inhalf; the north
ern half supported Fetzer, the south
ern half supported Herget.
I had voted. In fact, while I was
at my polling place Tom Fetzer
showed up to press the flesh. Al
though I had already made up my
mind, as to whom I would vote for,
I took the opportunity to speak with
Fetzer, thinking that I would put my
two cents in.
I have lived in Raleigh almost
twenty years, just inside the beltline.
I have seen it turn from a quiet mix
ture of pasture and concrete, to an
ugly sprawling mess. I remember
feeling, growing up here, that if I
simply blinked, a new strip mall
would appear. It was the unchecked
rampant development oftheeighties
that has made Raleigh what it is to-
day. With this concern in mind on
that crisp election day, I strode to
ward Tom Fetzer.
I’ll give him one thing; he did
listen to what I had to say. At first I
was hopeful, because he agreed with
me that this development out in
North Raleigh was ugly. To my
disappointment, he seemed to have
no ideas for how to tate care of the
matter. I pressed him further; what
were his plans for bringing Raleigh
into the twenty-first century. How
did he envision making Raleigh a
real metropolitan area? He hemmed
and hawed, not able to give me a real
answer. I gave him some of my
ideas. How about rebuilding and
renewing downtown? How about
working on a better public transpor
tation system? He nodded politely
and told me it would cost too much
money. Soon after that, he made a
quick exit, and I went to vote.
That conversation with Mr.
Fetzer did not sink in until several
days later, when I’d had a chance to
do more reading on the election, and
when I saw that map of the city. It
was then that I began to realize why
the city had divided itself in this
manner. North Raleigh has a dispro
portionate amount of wealth where
individual family earnings are con
cerned. I began to realize that the
people with the voting power in this
area are white, wealthy, conserva
tive people. I do not judge them for
this. What bothers me about this
si tuation is that people who are on the
very edge of town, will be control
ling the development of downtown;
their candidate won. Themajorityof
people living downtown and within
the belfline are lower to middle class.
It is in this section that there is the
highest concentration of minority
groups. Fetzer does not seem to care
about those who are the heart and the
life of the city. He has been elected
to provide support for people who
say that public housing should be
confinedfodowntown. Thatthepoor
do not have a right to live in safe,
clean neighborhoods as they do.
Fetzer represents the people who
complain the loudest about taxes, yet
who are often the wealthiest.
This election will further injure
the growth of Raleigh as a major
metropolitan area. Ifweeverwantto
overcome the image of the south as a
white elitist country club, we must
elect ofOcials in our cities who are
concerned about growth for every
citizen. I myself will be anxiously
awaiting the next race for mayor; this
situation can not happen again.
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