Thursday, October 9, 2008

Susan Young tells why, like her mother decades ago, she supports a 'man of the people'

Jordan Represents All People

One day back in the early 1970s, perhaps awash from the knowledge I was gaining in Mrs. Parnell's Civics class at Ramay Junior High, I came home from school and asked my mother who her favorite president was. Mama thought about this for a minute before she answered, "Franklin D. Roosevelt. He was a man for all the people." Mama was a child of the Great Depression. Her opinion of FDR was borne of life's experiences. The conviction in her voice still resounds in my mind today.

Recently I attended the Fayetteville mayoral debate sponsored by the Fayetteville Council of Neighborhoods, and I heard Lioneld Jordan say, "Theodore Roosevelt gave you the Square Deal, Franklin D. Roosevelt gave you the New Deal, and I'm going to give you the Real Deal." At that moment, I was reminded of Mama's praise of FDR as "a man for all the people." I believe Lioneld Jordan is also "a man for all the people." Like Mama's opinion of FDR, my opinion of Lioneld is borne of life's experiences. As Ward 4 alderman and vice mayor of Fayetteville, I have seen Lioneld talk openly, honestly and respectfully with people from all walks of life. I have seen him stand firm for what he believes in. I have seen him humbly admit when he is wrong. I have grown to admire him for his common sense ideas and plain-spoken solutions, for his tireless efforts to make Fayetteville the best it can be, and for his genuine love for our city and its people.

With the same strength of conviction that Mama had for FDR, I am proud to support Lioneld Jordan for mayor of Fayetteville. Lioneld Jordan is a man for all the people.

Susan Young

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