Show #182 - Cynthia Hamilton on Fiscal Discipline and Transparency in Hope Mills

Peter Pappas: This is different music. Well, everyone, good evening and welcome to the Carolina cabinet. I'm Peter Pappas. be your host this evening. We are proud to be the only homegrown conservative talk radio show in the region. And we know this is the smartest hour of radio. Our job is to give a voice to the conservatives of Fayetteville, Cumberland County and beyond. This evening, we welcome host of the cabinet returning Pastor Joshua Goodman. Good to see you, sir. evening, everybody. Oh, that's weird for me. It is. We can say good evening. can say good evening instead of good morning. Yeah, we're live streaming, So, uh, Welcoming my returning co-host. Mrs. Laura Musler. Thank you for being here Good. He's good. So over in the corner in front of the flag. We have miss Cynthia Hamilton running for Hope Mills commissioner Good evening, everybody. Good evening here and over to my left your I don't know what's over but Carol Ulrich here to talk about wreaths across America. So give us just a moment ⁓ We're gonna dive into our show. We appreciate you tuning in and spending time with us Take a moment to like, share, or follow us on Facebook and look for us at thecarolinacabinet.com. You can find links to our shows and how to listen on your favorite podcast broadcaster. Don't go far, we'll be right back. Well, good morning from the all-American city. This is Pastor Josh. And if I got some good news for you in a time when so many want to unpack, talk about, discuss all the negative junk on here to give you some good news. Paul writes to the Romans in Romans 15 13, and he says, Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace, believing that you may abound in hope by the Spirit or by the power of the Holy Spirit. You know, this talk today is about being hope-filled rather than being hopeless. And this is coming from an individual who just a couple of weeks ago was hopeless. Understand that hope is not founded or based on circumstance, situation. If we're going to truly hope, we have to hope in God. And if we're going to hope in God, we can hope in His characteristics. and His promises. We can know this. God's promises are true. We can look throughout the New and Old Testament at His promises kept. Moses, Aaron, Joshua, David, the list literally goes on and on. That's number one. Number two, we need to embrace His goodness because He is a good God and He is a God of hope. The prophet Isaiah says, But those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not grow weary. They will walk and will not faint. You know, there are a couple of principles when it comes to hope that I want to share with you. Number one, you need to know that hope is not whimsical, a fairy tale. No, hope is audacious. Hope is ferocious. Hope has an eager expectation and waiting. The word hope in Hebrew is the word quava. And it gives the end of an indication of a watchman who is watching out for his city. It gives the idea of a sailor who is looking towards the horizon, hoping to see land. Hope is the expectation of what God is going to do in accordance with his promises in your life. Now, we all face challenges. We all face difficulties. We all face hardships and maybe you are that person today and you are facing something that has brought you to a place of hopelessness. Well, if that is you today, then stop putting your hope in yourself or in the people around you, but begin to put your hope in God. Because if we really believe what we say we believe, then my friend, there is hope. This is Pastor Josh and that is your Good News. How could I, how could I not? You're on your re inaugural visit back to the cabinet. It's so good to have you back in here this evening. we have been stirring up quite the drama and you've missed a lot. know, we, ⁓ you know me, I'm awake. I'm already living rent free in people's heads. I mean, you know, I just, so, ⁓ love that meme you got the other night. ⁓ I love it. I wait until they open the letter. ⁓ so more about that later. ⁓ the last week, you know, we liked to update what have you been up to? So I went to the greater fable chamber, oyster roast, rock and boil, ⁓ good music, good food. even had producer Jim trying to, ⁓ eat chicken wings with his hands tied behind his back. How many did you get down? Jim six. He got six. I went last year and it was. The best time. Absolutely. The best time. I hate that I missed it this year. Good people, good food, know, and- All the oysters you can eat too. What? ⁓ yeah. Well see, you know, it's funny, Laura and I, I don't think we touched an oyster. No. I'm not an oyster guy, but I the ticket. But I had the and I had the potatoes ⁓ and- So my kids, when they eat oysters, they're like, they like slurp it down and they're like, got them. I don't even that sound. Yeah. That's- ⁓ Sorry. True story. I need a bucket for Laura. You know, it's funny because we're right next door to the oyster bar, but I never go there for oysters. I go for, you know, regular meal, but ⁓ they had good barbecue. The peel and eat shrimp. Now, am I a savage? Cause none of them peeled very easily for me. was like, yeah, they were. And then they had to be cleaned too. Cause they were some, were some, yeah. I felt like I was changing diapers and not in private room. All right. had I known I would have brought my own cleaning tool. I went, I had the pleasure of Laura and we had other friends go with us and ⁓ had Jim and his wife. I went up to Jim's wife and I said, after he's trying to eat chicken like a dog with his arms behind his back, I looked at his wife and I said, Have you ever wondered where the hell you ended up in the United States? I've got your husband over here trying to off a plate like a dog. Like what? He ate six. Yeah. They were boneless chicken wings. Oh, they were boneless. Yeah. Yeah. That confused me because they were talking about, got to get all the meat off the bone. I'm like, how are they going to the meat off the bone? They can't, know, got their arms tied. uh, so, uh, one, was it like a contest is because I missed that part. I had, I did not know who the man that won. There was a guy from Sagra. Yeah. See, I think that's a hometown advantage. Yeah. He must have, he must have. So pastor Josh, what have you been up to the last? Back in the saddle. Okay. ⁓ You know, course, ⁓ I had a child of mine pass away three weeks ago and, that man just, ⁓ it was that 1230 at night, police come to the door ⁓ and world falls apart. you know, I, We're friends. I love you. You know, and I, ⁓ I, I just don't know what to say. I think you, know, me, I got plenty to say usually, ⁓ but I didn't know what to say. You know, it's, it, has been the hardest event that me and my wife have ever had to walk through. ⁓ but it's like, ⁓ I was sharing my goodness, you know, ⁓ when the hopeless, not hopeful. Yeah. I was, I, I, this is the story of my life, you know, where I was. ⁓ empty of hope. Now I am once again, full of hope. And so, and that's cause I got great family, great church, great friends, like you guys, you know, ⁓ around me. Yeah. Well, and we, you know, we, definitely been thinking about you, but it's just one of those things like, do you, you know, there are no words, know, there isn't. And, ⁓ but we were definitely thinking about you. you're back in the saddle. Yep. Did you finally paint that damn board on the outside of the, that I drive by and see that board on the outside of the sanctuary? The board. What? You guys are replaced some wood on the no it's not. It's gotta go six months. still gotta go six months. But you need to come back on campus because I got new signage around. And so give me a couple days to finish. I'll be looking. You're gonna like it. Good stuff. So Laura, what have you been up to? I got up at the crack of dawn on Saturday morning and did the walk for Alzheimer's. Oh, I forgot the nice. Yes. So we do with I was on Diane Wheatley's team. So we did that. Um, seems like a lot more than I'm saying that again. your name again, Diane Wheatley. How are you supposed to say it? don't know. just, I've never heard the Diane Wheatley and Diane. love you. you're Laura's put a little extra flare. It's important and it's Wheatley. So, uh, you went to the Alzheimer's walk and what else did you get into? know there's some trouble you got into. had to be. know this. I've been a good girl. Really? usually am. People just put stuff on me. There's some, there is some stuff in the background that I didn't even do, that's. So I'm handing over to our other special guest here, Carol Ulrich. ⁓ She coordinates Cumberland County branch of the Reeds Across America, or she helps. ⁓ It's an annual remembrance program that honors fallen veterans through ceremonial wreath placements at cemeteries throughout the country, including our own Sand Hill State Veterans Cemetery ⁓ and the Hope Mills Cemetery. And her leadership has ensured that every veteran's grave receives a wreath during the December event. Welcome. Pressure's on. Yeah, the pressure's on because we are currently 3,000 wreaths short. ⁓ no. So what do we need to do to get some more wreaths? Sell them. $17 a piece. Okay. You can contact me. leave you guys with my information and I'll be happy to take your $17 check or your $340 check like I'm writing. Well, and we have not purchased ours yet. We buy for a year for my son who passed away, veteran. So we will purchase ours this week. Good. Perfect. And we all go out there. Laura was out there last year. And it's cold. I don't care if they tell you it's going to be 90 degrees outside. You dress like it's going to be 90 below because it will be. And ⁓ we froze, but we put all the wreaths out. We sure did. And last year, I think we had 200 and. 50, I think we had last year. was a beautiful ceremony for anybody who's been out there. You don't have to buy a wreath to go to the ceremony. It's absolutely beautiful. And it's solemn. It's, it's quite solemn. Now I'm going to warn you, it starts at noon, but if you're smart, you'll get out there by 10 o'clock at the latest because parking is a nightmare. they do have shuttles. They do have the shuttles. And the shuttles are nice and warm and get you right where you need to be. The wreaths are $17 a piece. This is the first time since 1992 that they've raised the price. They've always been $15 a piece. And so they're $17 a piece. We put them on as many graves as we possibly can. So when is this event? December the 13th. So it is cold then. When do we have to have our $17? First, let's talk about the money part of it. Cause we need that right away. Because that has to be done by when? That has to be done by the first of December. Because they have to order the wreaths. have to order the wreaths. Yeah. And these gigantic trucks bring them in. And they unload them and you grab and go. And you go back and grab again and again again and again. But, there's lots of kids running around out there. It's so, it's, really cool. does this take place? Sandhills veterans in spring lake and spring lake. And, so on December 17th. No, December 13th, December 13th at the Sandhills in Spring Lake. Yep. And all you have to do is show up. We'll find you and put you to work. Um, it does not make a difference. Um, Anne has been doing this as long as I have, if not longer. And I've been doing it since 2013. And, um, wow, you're old. I'm just joking. Shots fired. Don't let her get away with that. Carol. No, no, no, That's only 72 years old and I'm still that's good. Yeah. a button, take a name. So I'm worried. And, um, but it is, there are two events that are most important to me. Wreaths across America and the Purple Heart dinner and those my life is focused on. so anybody want to write me a check? I'm sitting right here. And I have to order checks. I looked in my checkbook. do not have one. I didn't know they still made checks. Oh yeah. You know what? I'm going to turn the camera off and I'm going let Carol handle some business. I'm just saying that nobody, I mean, I don't. I I've seen anybody ready to check in a very long time. I actually came across a box of checks and I was like, I just need I have a whole printer dedicated to printing You're a business owner. I'm talking about individuals. I write maybe two But what happens if, like me, I don't have checks? So what happens if, how can somebody donate or buy Reeves or whatever if they don't have a check? cash. Okay. Is there any place online at all? No. Okay. The reason for that. is because the amount, this is done across the United States and it will literally crash the system. I will be more than happy to pick your money up. I will be more than happy to, if you would like to come to our club meeting on the 11th. Fayetteville Republican Women's Club. As far as I know, we are the only group doing it this year. Okay. And that's at seven o'clock on November 11th at Logan's. would like to invite everybody to come. Everyone. And if they can't come that day, can you have an email? you have, how can somebody get ahold of you if they don't know you, Carol? Let me give you my cell phone number. have no problem with that. Okay. You're adventurous. I am very adventurous. Go ahead. I'll put it on screen. Okay. It's nine one zero five eight zero 1840. Okay. So they can send you a text and say, I want to donate. Yes. Or I want to go out and show up or whatever. Exactly. Fantastic. Yeah. Now you've to remember I used to repossess cars. I'm scared of her. this girl will be packing. You better come correct. So come out, spend some time with us. And dress warm. Dress warm. You will never forget the time that you have. Okay. That's it. Well, thank you so very much for coming, Carol. You're appreciate it. And we will be at November 11th. We'll be at Logan's for the Fayetteville Republican Women's Club. will see you there. I will see you there. I hope you have more than just bells. Oh my Lord. Wait a minute. Side hustle. we get out of the studio and you guys start going crazy. Miss Carol, thank you so much for being here this evening. It's been a lot of fun and I hopefully you will return. Of course I will. come back anytime. You know, I'm going to be watching my six though, you know. You scare me. Well, thank you so much for being here this evening. Thank you. Thank you. you. It's good to see you. right. So I told you, I see, I, you know, scared to come on the cabinet. It's like, we're We're nice here. Generally. mean, not all of us. I yeah, ⁓ I ⁓ mean, you know, ⁓ it's an acquired taste. If you're nice to us, we're nice to you. Yes, exactly. Yeah. Yes, she is. Yeah, I agree. I was excited to have you. a good evening. Okay. So, ⁓ we got a couple, two or three things to talk about this evening. got a so national political climate. is, ⁓ you know, folks week four, the federal government shutdown is counting, you know, we're on day 25 and there's no spending agreement in sight. Families are feeling it too. Furloughed workers, delayed paychecks and uncertainty about basic. services. It's not just DC. It's right here at home. absolutely right. mean, look, military families, veterans, contractors, Cumberland County has thousands of people tied to these federal paychecks. And this is not some distant debate, like a beltway. at all. questions everyone they're asking is how long does this drag on before Congress actually does that job? Because they're certainly getting paid. But prediction markets say that this could stretch all the way into mid November. So look, at what point Is our leadership going to stop screwing around playing the blame game and start leading? mean, I I don't care if it's red, blue or purple. mean, we've got to put Americans before politics. said it, Peter. It's the one, it's one thing to talk about fiscal discipline. It's another thing to grind the entire system to a halt in the name of politics. And I should have researched this before the show, but did anybody catch the unfortunately democratic set a Congress person that said, this is the chip we want the American people over a barrel. They're proud of it. That's yeah. mean, this to me for the first time since I've been watching Val Applewhite, I'm going to plug her name. Wait, did I? I think I mentioned her later. ⁓ did you save her for another? Yeah. Yeah. Because I was shocked too. I almost fell out of my chair. I think somebody's a campaigning for reelection already. % 100%. So, ⁓ so yeah, let's see. The shutdown began October 1st. It's week four. ⁓ now I have people in my church who have been affected. Right. You know, they're, they're not getting paid. So, you know, this happens before, to me, the government shutdown is pretty routine at this point. It's part of American politics. Yeah. Um, but I think it goes to show something deeper, financial management planning. We have people getting well paid. Oh, now I'm not talking about the privates out there. I'm talking about GS jobs. Yeah. They're making, you know, $75, $80,000 plus yet they are maxed out. Yep. and one or two weeks, how many thousand pounds of food are you going to give away next month? ⁓ yeah, it's, it's, it's, yeah, there's, it's, it's crazy. Cause I'm, I'm set to meet with them. like I think within the next couple of days and from what we're looking at, I don't know. Are you going to have enough? No, there's the holidays too, where people and families are getting together and everything else. I think I saw a statistic. November is the largest grocery month of the whole year because Thanksgiving, Christmas coming up. we know food stamps come the first. We do so much during this time of year. I mean, we put together holiday baskets with turkeys and dressing and potatoes and all of that. And I'm not sure. I'll give a... You'll be able to pull it off. Yeah. I'll give huge kudos to Cape Fear because they... ⁓ last year donated like a hundred turkeys or something for us to, for us to remember last year. think it was last year, maybe a year before now. God. ⁓ Turkey drop. Yeah. Was that last year? was guys on the one that they ripped everybody off or didn't show up. Spill the tea. think that was like years ago. Was it two years ago? Yeah. Cause I had them on the show. Yeah. No, they were scheduled to ⁓ do it at my church. ⁓ did they show up? No. That's exactly right. didn't show up anywhere. maybe we won't talk about the we'll just drop the turkey at that point. So let's talk about the other thing kind of making everybody lose their absolute mind. It's hilarious. Let's pivot a little different. So the new ballroom being added to the White House East Street East Wing. A lot of a lot of folks are rolling their eyes when they heard 250 million dollar ballroom. But let's look at the whole here. Exactly. That's this ⁓ project is taxpayer funded. ⁓ privately financed. Say that again for the ones in the back. It's not taxpayer funded unlike another president that may ⁓ be. Donors and supporters are putting the donors and supporters are putting the bill not the public and they're saying it'll serve as a permanent event and ceremonial space for future administrations. Well mean it's crazy for me right because you step back and look at it and presidents have I mean they've always done this kind of thing whether it's with gardens or libraries additions. And, I mean, really you got to step back for a second and take a look at our nation. Don't we want, don't we want to properly represent? I mean, yeah, it's, it's, evolution a little bit. mean, look, you know, a ballroom, it showcases American craftsmanship, host state events, and actually pays for itself through private contributions. mean, it's a win-win for us. mean, so people are upset that the thing's being built in lieu of, where's our food stamps, but. But they're not the same. not the same. But if you consider the positive impacts on jobs, construction trades, this is American labor and it's our design on display. You know, it's funny, too, because this is not just a home, right? This is not just where where the president lives. This is I mean, this is a national monument. It's it's it's it is ⁓ every American's house. That's right. You know, and so it's one of those things that, ⁓ you know, it's it's it's more than just about the building. You know, it's about, it's about our history. Well, and I have a very liberal friend that sends me, ⁓ she just fires off a lot of videos and Facebook messenger, right? And I can't possibly watch everything, but usually all the videos have a clip or a thumbnail of Donald Trump and his, ⁓ like mid, grail phase. ⁓ but I told her, I'm very excited for the ballroom because I've already reached out to my family in DC and said, Hey, Give me some tickets when it opens up. But you know, we got to give credit where it's due. mean, you're creating something that's enduring. It's privately funded, it's future focused. I mean, if think about it, when, the dignitaries come from all around the world, you know what they were doing before they were going under a tent? I mean, it's patriotic. It's, mean, it's American. I, like I said, I don't, it's a no brainer for me. Yeah. You know, even, even on the office, the little short blonde, she didn't want to get married in a tent. Right. You remember that? I so, know, you know, I mean, that's kind of an insulting to a foreign dignitary. but I think so too. I think this is fantastic. I guess I'd assume I like always been a ballroom. Yeah, you know, I thought so too. But yeah, I'd like to see a Trump Tower built on the end. So I think the consensus is, look, it's a living museum. It's not just a house. It belongs to all of us. I that people's house was the Congress building anyway. Whenever I hear say whenever I hear people's house or whatever, think communist China. I'm sorry when I hear the people's this or that I'm thinking yes. Maybe I watched that Chernobyl series again from HBO and it's like yes, comrade. Yeah, the Soviets had it going on with that anyway. So let's talk about let's pivot to snap a little bit and ⁓ you know, let's food benefits. I mean, the shutdown is making things tough. mean, but this moment, it reveals something deeper. It's what I mentioned earlier, how we depend on government. The USDA. says roughly 42 million Americans depend on SNAP. And if Congress doesn't act soon, November benefits might just not go out. Happy holidays, right? It's like, come on, it's painful. ⁓ It's a wake up call. SNAP was never meant to ⁓ fully, you know, replace someone's grocery bill. But can I tell you, it helps out. I mean, we can't feed every meal to everybody, ⁓ but we can help kind of bridge that gap. Isn't the answer in the name supplemental nutrition? So, you know, our own Democratic Senator, and this is where I said, let's hold it. So Senator Val Applewhite, you know, said it better than anyone. Here's what she posted. And I got to admit, I mean, she's either really cow-tow into some Republicans or she's running for reelection. You know what I found funny is all the remarks underneath it, because she said it as a Democrat. Everybody was supportive. if somebody else were to say the exact same thing we would be, I know what, but go ahead. so the one that I took out, it's a really long excerpt, but basically we can quote, we can no longer rely on the government to provide our basic needs like food, wicks, nap, and shelter, section eight, public housing. So stop making excuses and make adjustments. The Bible even says that I can, you can ⁓ teach you to fish and you, you're fed for a life. That's exactly right. James, James talks faith without works is dead. You know, ⁓ we're all called to, mean, throughout the word of God, I could again give another good news, but I won't. That's one of those things where I've been in arrears. Yeah. There's going to be a whole lot of good news tonight, but it's one of those things that the Bible's clear. You know, if a man doesn't work, then he doesn't eat. You know, ⁓ God, practical. Yes. God created us to work. He didn't create us to be unproductive. Right. Right. So I feel like the environment these days, they look for reasons to not work as opposed to go to work. We need to start building stronger families, stronger individuals, not more dependency. couldn't agree more. mean, look, it's good to have a safety net, but self-reliance. mean, doesn't that matter anymore? The shutdown just proved what happens when the net becomes the only plan. I mean, and then you ride up against the fence. Somebody ⁓ sent me a message on Facebook earlier was a video of ⁓ somebody walking through these. I'm sorry, but liberal run s holes that have homeless people defecating on the street and all this really awful stuff. And then it switched to like some monuments from world war II and stuff and said, do you think the man that left their wives and went to fight this war would have done it? Knowing this is what it would turn into. And I responded, absolutely. would because they believed in the fundamental of us as humans to not be losers. Yeah. Yeah. But wait a minute. I will. Cause I'm, I'm always the, you know, the other. Yep. Yep. Yep. There are people that thank you. ⁓ I've been accused of worse, you know, whatever. ⁓ There are people that do need assistance. Now just, I started out on food stamps. said safety net. Yes. I started out as a, ⁓ I was a single mom. My, my husband, my first husband liked my best friend better than he liked me in my own home. So I ended up being a single mom. So I ended up a single mom with three children. I had just a high school education and I was on food stamps. I was on food stamps for a while and my friend came to me and it's funny because I started working in the restaurant business as a manager and a training manager and I made less than $50 a year too much to get any kind of assistance. said, all I need is help with either. babysitting or, or, or childcare or medical care. That little bit of help, but they're like, no, but you can quit your job and make more money. And I was like, I'm not going to do that because there's no future in that. There's no, not my children would be the same. My mother was a welfare mom. grew up in a welfare home. it just perpetuates itself. it's okay. teacher would really like to hear this, but let's compare and contrast, ⁓ Bill Clinton's welfare to work program in the nineties what we're doing now. Yeah. Back then it was 30 hours a week required to work or you couldn't get benefits. And now that that's been dropped to 20. Yeah. So, and you can even volunteer. I'm surprised nonprofits are not just clamoring at the gates. Like, look, come help us and we'll sign off on 20 hours a week. you can look, I hate that it's, proffered like, if you don't, then you starve. But it's not that big of a deal. Yeah. 20 hours a week. That's, that's not that big of a deal. I'll put it, I'll put it to you like this. So I have a favorite sub sub shop here in Fayetteville. Yeah, you do. Huh? I do. And, and it's one thing for me to, uh, ask the owner of that sub shop to occasionally bring me an Italian sub, right? But it's another thing for me to expect that sub every week, every week. ⁓ because I believe it's cheaper to put clothes on your back than feed you. That's what my father would say about us. It's cheaper to feed you than our clothing and feed you. look at Jim. we're coming. ⁓ I'm not feeling the love. a minute. Jim brought me lunch today and asked as well at least bring Pastor Josh a whole Italian cut in fours, you know, just for you. ⁓ Love you, Jim. No love. No soup for you. I thought that would be a welcome surprise. it. so. Yes. Thank you, Jim. And I didn't want to guilt you into like if you couldn't make it like, well, got a sub. You better show up. right. Well, you guys take it away. Yeah. So, ⁓ we got somebody us, ⁓ who knows ⁓ what service really, really means an veteran and Hope Mills County or Hope Mills commissioner. ⁓ candidate, Ms. Hamilton. So welcome to the show, Cynthia. Cynthia's career spans from aircraft inspection to financial management and human resources, including overseas and at Fort Bragg. She's bringing the same discipline and attention to detail to the Hope Mills community. And tonight we'll dig in to see what her vision is for leadership, accountability, and basically everything. Yeah. Cynthia, thank you so much for joining us. We're excited to learn about how your experiences Shape your campaign for the Hope Mills Board of Commissioners. I'll jump in with the first question, ⁓ Cynthia. How ⁓ will your, being a veteran ⁓ with your background, ⁓ how will that to service ⁓ to the of Hope Mills? ⁓ One of things that I would really like do, ⁓ especially with my ⁓ service, ⁓ with my technical I'm used to decisions ⁓ very important decisions. And they have to be the right decisions when I make them. As far as the HR experience, we get into a lot of things with ⁓ personnel. ⁓ didn't really get into budget. That was with my financial management division ⁓ experience. But with the the HR part, again, ⁓ we we we actually worked with financial management division for the manning part of of the organization. to create manning documents and help maintain them. And that would determine how many ⁓ employees a department was entitled to hire. They would put them on their manning document. And that way, that was the only amount of people that they were entitled to hire. And they really couldn't add anymore. Now, you could put more people on, you just couldn't budget for them. So that would show how many people that they were authorized to have in their department. They really couldn't hire anymore and you had to maintain it as people would leave. You would have to remove them. So it's a good thing to have that way you don't get excess hiring of individuals in your department. Right, spending money. Because it's not just the salary, it's all the benefits that go with it that's very expensive when you bring all these people on board. And it helps them maintain and so they don't overspend. They don't hire more people than what they're required to have, the only people they're required to have in their departments. So that worked out pretty Okay. Now you bring up human resources. So I've got to the big elephant in the room. Do you agree with the board's decision three to two to vote to censure commissioner Elise Craven on October 6th? And especially after they hired attorney Mac McCarley to investigate and his report said, more likely than not, but there's no concrete proof that a racist remark was made. How much weight should you put in that and the standard when deciding discipline and do they owe her an apology? I believe they owe her an apology. There was absolutely no proof. I sat in on that meeting ⁓ and when he got up and spoke, he never once mentioned that he had any concrete proof saying that she was guilty or not guilty. He said more likely than not, and that could mean anything to me. Yeah. More likely than that's more likely than not. That's so soft. mean, it didn't say she was guilty and didn't say she, she was guilty. And that was in my, in my opinion, that was what he assumed had happened ⁓ based on. in the room has actually listened or was that the, so I live streamed it. Were you in the room? I was. Okay. ⁓ So ⁓ from my recollection, attorney says the two men's stories lined up with no, deviation at all. But Ms. Craver and her friends had discrepancy in their recollections. And that's why he deferred to saying that something probably could have been said, but there is no concrete evidence because it is he said, she said. I don't remember him saying there were discrepancies. I remember him going into the motive part of it. And he said the motive part was that she was running for election and she didn't want to be embarrassed. But that the men did not have motivation. that Ms. Farley was her friend. And wanted to back her friend. Sure. Now, the only motivation for Mr. For the other party was they refused to fund him for his the building that he was was taken care of. ⁓ And they thought that was retribution. so it was retaliatory because he didn't get a county. get what he wanted. He what was he seeking? I believe it was money to fund ⁓ something in his building. I'm not quite sure about that. I'd have to look that back up. But he was after something and he was denied that. and it was retaliatory. That's what they're assuming as well. So it was a lot of assumptions from what I was seeing. There was absolutely no proof. And I don't believe that she should have been censored before it was investigated. We just threw away $450 an hour plus gasoline for nothing, absolutely nothing. So what due process steps should come before a censure? Notice of change, a chance to respond outside counsel, public versus closed session. What steps do you think were followed and which ones were missing? ⁓ it should have been investigated first. There shouldn't have been a censure. ⁓ I know they have their closed sessions where they, and of course, we don't know what's going on in the closed sessions. We're not entitled to that, especially when it's personnel. ⁓ I think, in my opinion, I think she was ganged up on a little bit ⁓ from what I saw at the meeting. She came out of the meeting and sat down because they kept going in one at a time. ⁓ But I do believe it should have been investigated and come to some kind of a conclusion within the organization like they have in the past ⁓ before she was censured. I think that could have been accomplished with the people that they have on board. And that's what their job is. So we have some comments also welcome to our live viewers. I think we have a lot of very interested Hope Mills people watching you tonight. So, know, I just wanted to say that there was a comment quote more likely than not is not in the constitution. So I did. I can appreciate that. That comment. Thank you, Ms. Monica. So Laura, that's that's that's the truth. was going to say, I don't remember seeing that. So now you're currently on the zoning board of adjustment. I am. OK. Are you staying? If you get elected, will you stay on that board or will you come I can't. I'll have to resign. OK. OK. So how did that prepare you and what did you learn that would roll over into being a county commissioner? There wasn't a lot. We only had, I was only there for two sessions. The first one I had to recuse myself because it was for the VFW sign. And I'm an active member or I'm a member of the like the member of the VFW post 10 630 so I couldn't vote on that. So had to which post is that because there's like that's the one on Davis Street. Is that behind the Main Street? Yeah, it's back in the dead end back there by the church. Yeah. Nobody knows where it's at. No, yeah, I had to go back there one time and find it. It was fun. I'm like, am I going to the right place? Well, the sign that they that they voted to approve is, oops, I'm sorry, is only about this big. So it's really hard. Unless you know where it's at, you would never find it. The second one was for the J.T. Robinson Center. They wanted to turn part of it into a child care center. And that was the only thing that I was there for. ⁓ And it was basically about, it a good place to have it? Is it going to affect the community? Is there, you know, my questions are, there, is there enough parking places for it? Um, and, and so we voted to approve that. So it really didn't prepare me because the board of adjustment is more or less about zoning. And so it really didn't prepare me for, for that. I mean, there's a lot to zoning. There's a lot of different ways to zone property. So I was only there for two sessions and they've never called us back. Now, throughout your campaign, you have stressed cutting unnecessary spending and concerns during higher higher taxes ⁓ in your city. You are a candidate profile questioner. Specifically, what are unnecessary spendings? What exact line items would you cut? And ⁓ what are the taxes covering? What? How much would have been an appropriate tax raise? Well, the. ⁓ So many questions all in one. Let's got to try to write it down as fast as you're saying them. Tell me, tell me specifically what unnecessary spending looks like and what line items you would cut. We, we would have to go through the budget line by line and they did that in their budget meetings. But when they did the final budget, I don't believe they did that. ⁓ some of the things that I brought up in one of the meetings were, ⁓ they wanted to put, ⁓ another marquee on the lake. They already have two. ⁓ I noticed that they have, ⁓ they're buying high end Dodge Ram pickup trucks and they had another one on there. I didn't think that was necessary. What are the trucks used for? Well, Parks and Rec use them. I don't know if they haul anything or not. I don't monitor Parks and Recreation, but ⁓ they have some really high end vehicles there. ⁓ Some of the other things that I had brought up ⁓ was old mill ⁓ days. They didn't budget for it and that that is a Hope Mills tradition. That's what the founding fathers of Hope Mills have has done over the years. So they actually cut that out. I brought it up. And now the police foundation, Debbie, that runs the flower shop on and hope now she's the one that sponsors that. She does a real good job. I was down there this Saturday for that. So so that's how much money did they give the old mill day? Well, I think every committee is budgeted for around $5,000. I don't know if that covers everything. ⁓ The one that I went to be prior to that, they had a direct center and they had tablecloths. They had flowers and decorations. They had a cake and some sandwiches and things. And some of the ladies that were actually pioneers in Hope Mills with the mill and things spoke a little bit about ⁓ what had happened during that time period. And I actually walked out with one of the ladies and they're so interesting. They had so much to tell about the town back in the days when they actually had mills and things. ⁓ And so I think that they should actually keep that just because it's a tradition. I don't know if it's true or not, but somebody, an anonymous participant said the police foundation does mills days and it's not a tax. So it's not tax dollars. So did they cancel it or did they just... The police foundation takes care of it. The police foundation takes care of it. They never just funded it through ⁓ the HPC. ⁓ just didn't budget And I will say I did look for the event to put it on my calendar and it was not on the Town of Hope Mills website. The only way I found Old Mills Day was to go to distinctly Fayetteville, which is our convention of visitors bureau, and it was on their website. So if the town didn't give them any money, then they wouldn't be on their calendar. Although I think it's a should still feel like it's a community calendar. It should still be on there whether they're sponsoring it or not. It was they advertised it think on the town of Mills page. What do we learn at Old Mills days? What's the point? Well, it's just it's just a tradition ⁓ and it's about what basically showing what it happened with they bring in pictures and things of the old Mills. Okay, it's not an educational thing. It's just a tradition honoring the people that actually started the town basically is what it is. So, ⁓ when did the town start? mean, are guys still around? Some of the older ladies, think, you know, are we talking to like post civil war type stuff? mean, how far back are we going? But it's, but the further down you go on the lake, there's still, I believe some of the older fixtures from the, some of the people tell me that, that have kayaks and go down that area that they still have some of the old. Now Heritage Park has a lot of the old replicas down there. Okay. The park that nobody goes to. So I don't know if they're going to, when they, they do Heritage Park too, if they have the funds to do that, I don't know if there's going to be more further downstream or not. So, but it's, it's quite a tradition or it used to be anyway. Okay. So now they have a tax rate increase in Hope Mills and you say it's too much. It is. ⁓ Peter and I were just talking about that today. ⁓ One of our people in town, and I'll read what he wrote ⁓ from the internet, the town made up the $2 million sales tax loss, plus they made another $3.6 million with our property tax increase. So why would we do an increase if we've already made up the $2 million? What is that money? What are we going to do with that money? Is our how how was it made up when you say they made it up? Well, whenever they increased our property tax that brought it up to the three point. Okay. Million dollars. ⁓ And a lot of that, again, I feel is unnecessary spending. And that's why I believe that the budget should be gone through line by line and see exactly where we're at, what we can reduce, what we can cut. ⁓ The mayor said that they're down to bare bones, but. The training went from 4,000 to 30,000. What training specifically? We talked about that. The training that they attend, the conferences that they attend. Whose they? The staff. ⁓ Every department has their own travel and training budget. ⁓ Administration and government has the highest ⁓ budgeted training for the whole town. ⁓ And one of the meetings I actually spoke about that because in my HR work for the federal government, ⁓ they got to the point with the funding and the budget that they would only send one person to training. We would go up to Maryland for training to headquarters. ⁓ We would bring back all the material and share it with, we'd have a meeting and share it with everybody in the office. There's no way the federal government is that proficient. Oh, we did. I know what you mean, but we did. And it finally got to the point where they quit letting anybody go and we did everything by zoom. So and I do know that they have a lot of zoom classes out there for everybody. And I really believe that I don't I don't see the point of sending the whole staff. I just don't. That's I mean, that's kind of too much. And that's like, mean, you said from what to 30,000 40 from 4000 to around $30,000 just for two departments. And then when I did a public records request, this kind of touchy subject, I got some of the information back and some of the expenses, I think were a little too much for our town. Like, for example, three individuals flew and paid $250 extra just to sit together on the airplane. Granted, I mean, there's nothing illegal about it, but I feel that it's kind of a waste of our taxpayers' money to do that. Okay. And this is what I was trying to discuss with you earlier when we kind of did a just introduction to how this was going to go this evening. How does this compare to other municipalities? Because a lot of what I'm hearing is opinion. You just don't feel. don't say, but what... The city of Fayetteville spend on this kind of stuff. Well, I don't know if the city of I'm just talking about what they're doing in this town. I'm not comparing it to any other towns. I'm just I'm just stating what the taxpayers are having to pay for. Was that was that necessary? ⁓ get the floor. They rent a Toyota 4Runner for over fourteen hundred dollars. Then they Uber. And I just feel it's unnecessary. And so do other so the other individuals in town feel that that's unnecessary spending. We have a fleet of vehicles behind town hall. have two SUVs that sit there and hardly ever move. We have a van that sits there and never moves. And the town manager was one of you when they were discussing it on one of the meetings said, what departments are we going to cripple by using a town vehicle? ⁓ I don't know that they would cripple anybody when they had one of the departments when they have department will be disabled from providing services. So listen, Mrs. Hamblin, you Pete. Pete, you're asking for people's votes. So I'm going to lean into you a little bit. need, I need to know that you're able to make factual decisions if you were to get the seat. And a lot of what I'm hearing is opinion. You don't feel and this and that. what, where can you go? Just humor me. Where could you go to find out the facts of this stuff? And would you be willing to put it on a peer study and say, well, Hope Mill spends this Spring Lake does that. Is this emotional? I don't like it. Or is this factual? This is too much. We could do that. add to that for just a second? Because sometimes we feel something, it's industry standard. I don't think that our city council members should fly first class. Me personally, but there's pictures of some of our city council members flying first class. Well, they do. But they get a per diem. They get annual, I think, $7,500 to spend for travel. Right. See, and I think that's what we're talking about. So they can spend, but they also get the per diem and everything once they get to their location. But we're not talking about a town like Fayetteville or Spring Lake. have 10 square miles. have 18,000 people. We don't have a huge metropolis where we have all that money coming in. We don't have a transit system. We don't have all of the things that what's the total budget for Hope Mills right now. How many 2000. 22 million. So I agree with you in comparison, you're less than 10 % of city of fables budget, we're closer to 350 60 million here. So I, I'm with you, that we shouldn't be spending in Hope Mills, the same thing that fable does. percentage wise, though, there has to be there has to be a metric where you can determine and say, you can level it and peer it and say, well, is this outrageous? Or is this just micromanaging and, is it necessary? So why would they go to this? Well, necessary that I buy Velveeta shells and cheese. I could buy, you know, Harris teeter shells and cheese. but I want to, I like the packet more than You budget for you. We're talking about, they're using the people's tax money. It's, it's, it's, it's their, it's everybody's money. Their money included, except the ones that don't live in Hope Mills. So you're allowed to buy your shells and cheese if you're buying it. Okay. But if a year's in taxpayer money, you got to buy the Harris Tita brand. That's right. what, controls are in place to, you know, so did anybody break any rules with, with your opinion that they spent too much money? Did anybody break an HR rule? Is that the point though? mean, absolutely. Look, okay. So I've been, I've been around. this political stuff. Okay. I've heard you've been around. So yeah, thanks a lot. So, ⁓ allegedly she said it. me. I didn't say it. So I've been around long enough to know about economic development and needing to, ⁓ kind of train up your staff. ⁓ I saw it personally on the human relations commission. saw a, an assistant get hired. And they started sending her to all kinds of trainings and all. now she's, ⁓ she has an actual better position within the city because she's more knowledgeable. So I believe in developing people and as an HR background, I think you can agree with that. ⁓ but I do believe that the earmark of a good elected is knowing what you don't know and being able to send people for training and be willing to do this because what's, what's the worst. I didn't say that we couldn't send people to training. I'm just saying that. We need we need to cut a little bit where we can. OK. I mean, like I said, the taxes are high. People are wanting to sell their houses and leave because they can't afford the taxes. why aren't we taking care? Why aren't we taking care of the citizens if we have vehicles that the town staff can use to go to training? We're all the taxpayers are only paying for the gasoline for those vehicles. So let's back up just a moment because my realtor heart just kicked in. So who do you know that sold their house because they couldn't afford the tax? I know people that are, are saying to sell their house. don't know. Can you give them my phone number because I'll be happy to listen to houses. Okay. Because listen, the County just told you and we, the citizens that your house is worth way more than it used to be. the problem with that valuation is that it caught. have. the tail end of the Corona market. Yeah. So all that we only revalue every eight years. Now County Commission is trying to change that to reduce it so that next time the changes won't be so severe. Okay. Because those valuations follow the market. They do. So anybody watching, if you're trying to move out of Hope Mills, let Peter know. Papus Realty will take care of your needs. ⁓ But the thing is, included with that, something else that I was working on is the parks and recreation. And I'm not knocking parks and recreation. Recreation is wonderful for the youth. I believe in that. ⁓ And I do. ⁓ But their tasking is twice for parks and recreation, once on our vehicle tax and once on our property tax. So when they did the revaluation on our homes and the value of our homes increased, So did the price that we have to pay to parks and recreation on our property tax. We're still having to pay five cents to every hundred dollars on the new valuation. So Hope Wheels breaks it out like town tax and then we pay town tax. We pay county tax and included with that is parks and recreation tax on private. a separate line. It is a separate line. Is it? Yes, it is. OK. And that's how I saw that. And I did find out because we went round and round with the town attorney on that because the general statute says that the people should be able to vote on that. things kind of got twisted a little bit and vote on what I'm sorry on whether or not that the people should be able to vote, whether they pay that parks and recreation property tax on their property tax. Why? would they? It's in the general statute. There's a list of of of items that can be put on your your property tax. And if you really have to read the general statute to get into it and what it says and the words were kind of twisted and turned around a little bit. And it finally came down to the school of ⁓ UNC School of Government said, no, the people are not entitled to vote on that. So I and talked to the man at UNC School of Government. And he told me that that wasn't true, that there should been a public hearing ⁓ and that the people let the people voice their opinion. When was this tax actually added? Was there a public hearing? Maybe there was. wasn't a public hearing. It's been quite a while ago. I don't know exactly. I don't know the date. ⁓ But I know. Within the last five years? It's been longer than that. OK. Now, parks and recreation used to be part of Fayetteville, ⁓ the county, but then they broke away from the county and they did their own separate thing. So when I asked about it, I was told, no, you need to go to the county. It's a county thing. So I went to the county and they said, no, that's not true. ⁓ we collect all the money and then we distribute it down to the municipalities. So they collect all that tax and send it down. So, but I was told in, in Hope Mills that that was a county, the county initiated that tax. I feel like we're splitting the hairs here because if parks and rec really belongs to town of Hope Mills, then if they don't have it as a separate line item on our tax bill, aren't they just going increase their budget and pay it out of there? What does it matter how it gets taxed? Especially if it's not a new tax. It's not something that's not that's not what I'm talking about I'm talking about the people have the right to vote if they hold a public hearing they can put that on the ballot I was told by our town attorney that the people did not have the right to vote and he got that from the UNC School of Government But when I called and talked to mr. McLaughlin at the UNC School of Government He told me that wasn't true that they should have held a public hearing But we're not even sure how long ago it was added. So how do we not know that there was a public hearing held for it 20 years ago? They have a year after 1970 something. I forget what it is now. I've got, I've got like 13 pages of emails with that. Okay. Back in, mean, Ms. Hamilton, I want the receipts. See, I don't, I don't like speaking in hyperbole or conjecture. I don't want to think or hear that something happened somewhere to somebody somehow. I want. But I got the facts from the town attorney and UNC School of Government. And that's what I was looking for. And that's what I was told. And that's all I can go on. ⁓ Ladies and gentlemen of the chat be nice to each other a little bit. They're all friends. can riled up. Listen, I'm not going to the chat. You know, told you we're going to super take it easy on you. But the thing about it is, and I spoke to a dear friend of mine that she's ⁓ a community watch organizer in Fayetteville. And we had a discussion several about a month ago now. And I said, you know, I wish politics was like the way y'all look at sports teams. Put on your jersey, red, blue. have the wings, the whatever, and when you're done, your team loses. Just get on with life. we gotta post. No. But all I'm... What? That's not the way it works. If we lose, we've gotta post on Facebook what a horrible other team that you guys voted wrong. cheated. cheated. Yeah, whatever. I have a question. Okay. Just out of curiosity because it's been referenced in the chat a couple of times. Something about a police officer at the end of your street or you requesting something. I have no idea what they're talking Do you have good looking cops? keep calling I was going to say, are they singled? I have a friend that's singled. I know who started that. More than one person has referenced it and I don't know what they're talking about. I would like to know. was, for right now where I live, before I got on, well, I've been on the board of directors in my HOA. trying to clean up the area with the shooting and the four wheelers. So when the four wheelers were out there, there was 40 or 50 of them coming down to the end of the street, just raising crap all over the place, screaming and hollering, running, going through my yard, doing wheelies in the street. ATVs are not, they're just not allowed. UTVs are allowed with basically. So I would call the police to come down because my neighbors were calling me. And then they're calling you because you're the president of the home. the president, but I'm on the board of directors. OK, so you're on the board. So they're calling me about that. Have you called the police? No, I haven't. So I call the police. Then the shooting started. We had a guy right below my house. It was Halloween. There were kids out trick or treating. He's shooting. So I call the police. So then we get into it with the police about whether it's county or town. And that's beside the point. These are the issues that I would call them on. So I finally went to the media with it. The chief of police got in touch with me. We put a flock camera out there in the area, which has kind of helped a lot. We put, we put barricades up. did the Jersey barriers. They move. We spent, I forget how much money for that. 2,500, $3,000. What's the Jersey barrier? Is that the concrete? It's concrete with three bar in it. So they moved them, they took cargo straps and trucks and moved the barriers. So, wow. Okay. So I just want to add that we don't have to get your house address so can go egg it later, but I just want to know like what part of Hope Mills do you live in? West Hampton. I don't know where that is. I know Rockfish Road. Hampton Road. Hey Mr. Realtor, I even knew that. Look, for you. I hope Mills by extent. was the sub shop and back usually. So anyway, is it more rural out there? Well, behind my house is there's like 74 acres that was annexed into Hope Mills that belonged to the County. So it's a huge open area and they think that that's game. Sure. A recreation area, but there's signs posted and they finally put up another barrier with iron rebar and encased it in cement. So unless they have a tank, they're not going to move that. Okay. but the police still come out because they've, they've thrown. It's just, it's still a mess sometimes out there. I mean, is that what it is? love kids, when, I'm not, I'm not going to babysit other people's kids when they're destroying property down there. And it's, $4,000 that the taxpayers are going to pay. When I was growing up, I was on the, I grew up in Raykonda and, uh, I, me and my brother were on the lake on our paddle boats and we had those horn, those little horns from Radio Shack with the music. And somebody called the sheriff on four o'clock in the afternoon for making noise. Yep. You know, but I will say that having spoken to Ken Braden and he says when people complain and complain and complain, he said the best thing that you can do is get it taken care of from the police and so the police can be out doing other things. And it sounds like the police chief did a good job. You have the stuff taken care of. We worked together and we got that. In fact, exactly. And they're coming out next week. Public Works is going to come out because they're still accessing the area. They're going to cut logs and secure them in place out there. So. Are you they're working? We just got on the chat. It's got a large easement back there. Is that true? Is it a big easement for utility or something behind your house? No. OK, there's nothing back there. ⁓ And I'm trying to not let you be portrayed as the grumpy like I've that many years old. And I'm not either. And like I said, it's all your furniture covered in plastic. No, no. No, actually, my dog and my cats are all over my furniture. So I'm not I'm not a CD or anything. But, but ⁓ no, we've taken care of it only because I think I went to the media with it because I got tired of the shooting and that they would shoot right below my house. ⁓ And the police would come out and of course I don't expect them to walk down there in the dark. When these guys know the area, they have guns and I don't want anybody to get hurt out there. And I've told them that several times. So, you know, I do care about law enforcement and they've been great ⁓ trying to help us out there and I do appreciate them. In fact, I spoke highly of them at the budget. As far as budgeting for the police department because they've been awesome them and the fire department I had kids setting off firecrackers and set the back of my property on fire and almost took the neighborhood in the fire department I'm not gonna nickname you Karen. I'm not And there is a Karen on the chat and we miss you. She's been on here already Sorry to disparage your name again miss Aronson, but anyway, so I mean for me Reeling it back around to it sounds like ⁓ what your goal would be in the next two to four years ⁓ is really to bring a higher level of fiscal responsibility. That sounds like to me, you're in my right. Is that your passion? The town ⁓ really has gone downhill as far as I went down around one of the streets and it looks like a junkyard down there and the houses are dilapidated. down there. dated and the town is a site. went to code enforcement and they have taken care of it. But we just need the town to actually... part of being in a town is community awareness. So while you said you complained about a dilapidated building and they took care of it, so they are doing somewhat of a good job because they took care of something that you complained about. Right. But this has been going on for a long time. And a lot of the citizens are talking about the drains are plugged up So then they come out and took care of the drains But my thing is why do the citizens have to say something for them to come out and do their job? well, that's part of the being a community because I can't be as the Parks and Rec person or the planning person or the dilapidated building person I can't be everywhere. ⁓ no, but you are over here and you see this and you're like, ⁓ hey, Laura There's an issue. I take care of it when you alert me Cause I only see Jim's issue over there. didn't. Jim has got some issues. I've cleaned my own drains before because they needed to be done. I don't have a problem doing that. and accountability is one thing, but again, back to the money situation, we need to make things affordable for people in our town. do. mean, I've been in stores in the holidays where people are one lady was, she took her stuff and. and put it back on the shelf. said, what's wrong? said, I can't afford it. Well, that's not the government's job though. Well, it's not, but still if the taxes are too high. Okay, specifically, you own your own home, yes? I do. Okay. Dollar amount per month. How much did your tax bill go up? It went up over $800. For the month? No, no, for the total. So I didn't figure it out for the month, but it went up over $800. For the year? For the year. Yes. So your increase was 80 bucks. yes. Okay. ⁓ but it all comes down to people managing their money and I get that, but not everybody can do that. ⁓ people just can't, some of them can't, and then you'd look at this, like you were talking single mother where you've got an older person on social services. See, I wanted to say, but I took to, a representative was at a certain age, your tax rate get locked in because you're never going to let the senior citizens not pay taxes because they're the primary homeowners. However, after a certain age, it should be locked in because you're on a set income. if your tax rate goes up around, doesn't matter. You're not going to up my social security to the same degree. if we lock them in at a certain rate and then when you sell your house, all bets are off, but at least to take care of the senior citizens that are on a Just an idea. Isn't Florida kind of flirting with getting rid of property taxes altogether? I don't know that they have property taxes. a about getting rid of it. But my question is, well, how are they going to offset that? Because traditional government, United States, you get property taxes for your health, safety and welfare, your cops, your fire, your schools. Well, then stop spending it on all of these other projects. There are exemptions as well. mean, people that make certain amount of money are entitled to exemptions on their tax bills. So and that That helps senior citizens that maybe making $1,500 a month on social security, they have their own home and they still have their utilities and their insurance and their car and all those other expenses. So it does help them. So you running for Hope Mills commissioner, what's beside your HR background, what else can you bring to the office that would be beneficial for the citizens of Hope Mills to know about? The budgeting experience. When I was in Germany, I worked for financial management division and I assisted the that helps senior citizens that maybe making $1,500 a month on Social Security, they have their own home and they... the manager with the budgets ⁓ every year. And that's a big job when you're in a military community, when you've got all these different facilities there. So, and that's where, again, the Manning documents that I got into a lot of HR, because I also took care of personnel actions and things. But I did a whole lot of things in financial management division that would help me prepare for this role. Okay. I'm good. Are we satisfied? I'm satisfied. Does anybody in the chat have any real quick last minute questions that are not mean? Anybody anybody Bueller first for you have how does anybody get a hold of you? does anybody get a hold of you? I can give you my phone number. It's like what? if what if they want to donate money to your campaign? Well, they can call me and I can give them. OK, what's your phone number? OK, I've I don't pass. So I spent two years in El Paso. ⁓ ⁓ When I left Germany. I'll type it in. What's the number? It's 915-929-2081. Okay. See, I can do that now. See, look at me, guys. And I give you my email address. I can give it to you. It's kind of a German thing. ⁓ German things. I don't know anything about that. Blumenfrau. B-L-U-M-E-N-F-R-A-U. ⁓ at msn.com. still at BL. Blumenfrau. msn.com. That means flower lady in German. msn.com. Wow. Who's on MSN anymore? Well, that's a long time ago. Well, an age thing again. ⁓ So look, I want say you to my account on air cabinet members. Mrs. Laura Musler and Pastor Josh. Yes, Good to see you. And especially to Miss Cynthia Hamilton. Thanks for being a good sport this evening. Thank you for having me. Yeah. To everybody watching. We too rough on you. No, you were fine. I can handle it. I'll try harder next time. Everybody watching. I hope you'll do us a favor this week. Take time to visit one of our commercial sponsors. Let them know you heard their message right here on the cabinet. If you do somehow miss an episode of our top rated show rated, you can find us on your favorite podcast broadcaster, Apple, Spotify, Google. Come on guys, everywhere. Look for us online at the Carolina cabinet.com. You can find all our videos and links. Thanks again for tuning in this evening. are the Carolina cabinet.