Martin Bemberg
Courtesy photo
Less than a month after announcing an election bid, Martin Bemberg has decided to drop out of the race to become the next Ward 2 representative on the Fayetteville City Council.
“I realized without much effort that my priorities are my family and finishing my degree,” said Bemberg on Monday.
The 24-year-old language tutor said although he no longer plans to challenge Matthew Petty for the Position 2 seat in the Nov. 6 general election, he will operate as campaign manager for a replacement candidate.
Bemberg said he preferred not to disclose the name of the potential candidate until the person officially files for the seat, but told us “he is a young, up-and-coming business owner who is well respected among the commercial community in Ward 2.”
“The unannounced candidate I support simply has thicker skin than I and nerves of steel,” said Bemberg, who cited other reasons for dropping out of the race.
“I was very discouraged when I started spending time with local politicians and discussing the issues with them,” said Bemberg. “I realized quite quickly that holding a municipal office, in the opinion of our current leaders, is less about being a servant to our community and more about convincing people that they, and only they, know what’s best for the rest of us. These are not the kind of people I want to work with, and it is not a game I’m willing to play. I’m not going to involve myself in the game of arrogance and intellectual dishonesty I see in government.”
This is the second time Bemberg has decided not to pursue previously announced plans for a Ward 2 council bid. He told the Flyer in April 2010 that he would run against Mark Kinion and Adam Fire Cat for the Position 1 seat, but backed off those plans before the filing period began. Kinion went on to defeat Cat with 77 percent of the votes, replacing outgoing Alderman Kyle Cook.
The filing period for City Council and other municipal candidates begins July 27.
So he didn’t start talking with local politicians until after he announced his candidacy? Did he not investigate what it took for be a city councilman before he decided he wanted to become one? Am I the only one detecting irony in his declaration that he won’t stoop to the level of ‘arrogance and intellectual dishonesty’ that he sees in government?
Like the post says, he needs to “finish his degree” and apparently, also needs to grow up. He seems unfamiliar with the concept of intestinal fortitude. If he doesn’t like the “arrogance and intellectual dishonesty” he sees in government, then don’t slink away — join the fray and change it! Instead, he whines and complains. He must have learned his approach to citizen government from talk radio. I pity the fool who allows him to manage their campaign; political campaigns are slugfests, and a campaign manager needs a much thicker skin than the candidate; his time away from his priorities of school and family will be far greater managing a campaign than being the actual candidate. I guess that reality has not sunk in yet, either.
Pathetic
Y’all make me giggle. This is exactly what I’m talking about.
You opened yourself up to this criticism with the way that you announced the withdrawal of your candidacy. It would have been more graceful and tactful if you had simply stated you were withdrawing to focus on your education and your family, but you went on to self-righteously attack the current members of the city government.
I bet Petty is glad he doesn’t have to worry about debating in four different languages now.
Mr. Thief: Latin is dead, so it only counts as half a language.
My only question: Are you going wait 4 years before re-re-announcing your candidacy? Third time’s the charm, you know.
Though I don’t agree with much Mr. Bemberg has to say, I’m very happy to see someone his age interested and engaged. The fact that he knew he needed more time to truly understand the process also speaks volumes. I’m confident that we’ll hear more from this young man in the future. Kudos Sir.
1) He wasn’t going to beat Petty anyway. Petty catches a lot of crap, but he’s actually engaged, involved and pretty good.
2) Politics is indeed a slugfest. Faint of heart need not apply.
3) Bemberg will always have my respect based on his broadside at Ferrell at the July 3 council meeting. Entertaining, for sure, but also accurate.
Mr. Bemberg: Now that we know how you feel about this city’s elected officials, what do you think of it’s registered voters?
They have elected officials who prefer to speak than to listen, and often to represent the interests of developers rather than residents. I feel that they deserve better, and that if they are young, they are not represented.
I was looking forward to a debate. Regardless of what you think of the candidate(s), there have to be more than one to get issues discussed rather than just talked about. So Petty will run unopposed again, what does this accomplish? I’m not knocking Matt, just saying that real competition is good and there is always room for better ideas.
Basically, he wasn’t prepared, and he had to rationalize by saying he’s too good for the system.
He definitely gets his style from talk radio, and I’m not convinced his “debate” would have added anything meaningful to the conversation, judging from his fundamental cluelessness.