The Carolina Cabinet

Peter Pappas and Laura Mussler welcome Judge Rosalyn Hood, Cumberland County District Court, Seat 6, who is finishing her first four-year term and running unopposed. A Western Carolina University track athlete whose Olympic hopes ended with two fractured ankles, Hood enlisted after 9/11 as a parachute rigger, commissioned as an officer, served multiple overseas tours, and retired in 2024 as a lieutenant colonel after 22 years. She spent 16 years in the district attorney's office before taking the bench.

She explains how district judges rotate through criminal, family, DSS and domestic violence courtrooms, why she calls people by name and makes sure those without a lawyer are heard, and the meaning behind her slogan, "justice you can trust." Plus: what an unopposed race means, how the courthouse leadership team works, and what happened when a sitting judge got picked for a jury.

She's not taking campaign contributions this cycle. Find every candidate conversation at thecarolinacabinet.com.

Peter Pappas and Laura Mussler sit down with Judge Toni King, a Cumberland County District Court judge for 17 years, who is running unopposed this fall. A military kid whose father served 30 years, King first came to Fort Bragg in middle school and came home to Fayetteville after college and law school.

Most of the conversation is about the human trafficking court she runs, with separate juvenile and adult dockets. She explains why Fayetteville's spot on I-95 makes trafficking a local problem, why the people picked up on charges are often victims too, and how the court works with the district attorney, defense counsel, therapists and nonprofits to get them treatment and a way out. She walks through warning signs anyone can watch for, in public and in hotels, and the training the court has funded for hotel and airport staff.

She closes with an open invitation to come watch court, why only the clerk records proceedings, and what running unopposed means to her. Find every candidate conversation at thecarolinacabinet.com.

Welcome back to the Carolina Cabinet, Cumberland County's smartest hour of talk radio. Peter Pappas and Laura Mussler sit down with Theodore Lee "Ted" Miller, one of 16 candidates for at-large seats on the Cumberland County Board of Education.

Miller, a Flint, Michigan native who came to Fayetteville with the Army and retired in 2001 after a 20-year career, puts one proposal at the center of his campaign: every senior takes and passes the GED to graduate. He argues an 89% graduation rate means little if students aren't at grade level, and that a graduate who can't pass the GED was failed by the school system. Peter and Laura press him on the numbers behind that claim and on what happens to students who don't pass. His answer: free continuing-education classes at FTCC and a corrected transcript once they do.

The conversation also covers the district's capital needs, Miller's case that Cumberland County has been shortchanged by the NC Education Lottery, his idea for yearly home visits by homeroom teachers (Laura isn't sold), consequences for students who assault teachers, and bringing hands-on trade programs back to the schools.

Find all of our candidate conversations at thecarolinacabinet.com.

00:00 Intro
00:42 Meet Theodore Lee Miller
03:13 Why he filed
05:55 A GED requirement to graduate
09:44 Who passes, and what happens if they don't
11:37 School funding and the NC Education Lottery
13:44 Enrollment and choice schools
14:45 Home visits by homeroom teachers
17:53 Students who assault teachers
19:46 Trades and hands-on learning
22:47 Failing to teach critical thinking
23:52 Telling 16 candidates apart
24:51 The FTCC path and a corrected transcript
26:01 How to reach the campaign
27:51 Even if I don't win

Welcome back to the Carolina Cabinet, Cumberland County's smartest hour of talk radio. Peter Pappas and Laura Mussler open the live show with two Cumberland County parents, Michelle Cazarez and Michel Santana, who pushed back when the district moved to end E.E. Miller Elementary's year-round calendar and Spanish immersion. They describe learning about the change from a February voicemail, why principals were left out of the loop, what a year-round calendar means for military families, and how parents organized. Miller is staying year-round for now, and they explain how to stay involved through the Cumberland County Save Our Schools group on Facebook.

Then: the next phase of the PFAS fight, including the county's $1.3 million engineering and source study; the Cabinet's race-by-race candidate outreach scorecard, covering who has appeared, who has booked, and who hasn't answered; and rapid fire on a tuberculosis case at 71st, new grants accepted by Fayetteville City Council, Mayor Mitch Colvin's appointment to the NC Board of Transportation, the court fight over White House press credentials, and J. Cole's night at the Crown Coliseum. Peter, who sits on the Civic Center Commission, discloses his seat before the Crown item.

Judge Toni King and Judge Rosalyn Hood follow in their own episodes. Find every candidate conversation at thecarolinacabinet.com.

Welcome back to the Carolina Cabinet, Cumberland County's smartest hour of talk radio. Host Peter Pappas sits down with Quincei Lovejoy, a CPA, financial planning manager at Fayetteville PWC, and one of 16 candidates for three at-large seats on the Cumberland County Board of Education.

Lovejoy explains why her own family's experience with the IEP process pushed her to file, and says a parent asking for an evaluation should get one in under 30 days. She and Peter get into school safety beyond locked doors — bullying, mental health, and the SROs who have become bouncers — and how discipline works when a student is covered by an IEP.

Peter asks the CPA about the numbers: 1,200 fewer students this year, families leaving for charters and Opportunity Scholarships, the cost of rebuilding E.E. Smith, and a $670 million budget. She gives credit where it's due, to the IB and AP programs and a superintendent whose district cut its low-performing schools from 27 to 20, and closes with her case for a shake-up on the board: trust, but verify.

Find all of our candidate conversations at thecarolinacabinet.com.

00:00 Intro
00:17 Meet Quincei Lovejoy
03:12 Why she's running
03:25 The IEP process
06:56 Supporting teachers and staff
09:23 Safety is more than locked doors
10:02 IEP protections and discipline
13:00 Counselors and staffing
13:45 Enrollment, budgets and vouchers
16:13 What's working: IB, AP and EC
17:10 Low-performing schools and the superintendent
17:51 Career and technical education
18:57 1,200 fewer students
20:24 Families voting with their feet
24:50 E.E. Smith and the cost of new schools
26:31 Working across board factions
27:57 School closures and transparency
30:07 Trust, but verify
33:32 Time for a change

Welcome back to the Carolina Cabinet, Cumberland County's smartest hour of talk radio. Peter Pappas and Laura Mussler open the live show with two Cumberland County parents, Michelle Cazarez and Michel Santana, who pushed back when the district moved to end E.E. Miller Elementary's year-round calendar and Spanish immersion. They describe learning about the change from a February voicemail, why principals were left out of the loop, what a year-round calendar means for military families, and how parents organized. Miller is staying year-round for now, and they explain how to stay involved through the Cumberland County Save Our Schools group on Facebook.

Then: the next phase of the PFAS fight, including the county's $1.3 million engineering and source study; the Cabinet's race-by-race candidate outreach scorecard, covering who has appeared, who has booked, and who hasn't answered; and rapid fire on a tuberculosis case at 71st, new grants accepted by Fayetteville City Council, Mayor Mitch Colvin's appointment to the NC Board of Transportation, the court fight over White House press credentials, and J. Cole's night at the Crown Coliseum. Peter, who sits on the Civic Center Commission, discloses his seat before the Crown item.

Judge Toni King and Judge Rosalyn Hood follow in their own episodes. Find every candidate conversation at thecarolinacabinet.com.

00:00 Welcome to the Cabinet
05:35 E.E. Miller parents: the year-round and Spanish immersion fight
08:46 Principals left out of the loop
10:40 Being heard by the board
15:48 How the district communicated the change
18:12 Reaching 16 school board candidates
21:11 PFAS: the $1.3 million engineering study
24:15 The candidate outreach scorecard
27:44 Rapid fire
32:47 Coming up: Judge King and Judge Hood

Welcome back to the Carolina Cabinet, Cumberland County's smartest hour of talk radio. Host Peter Pappas sits down with Dr. Kimberly Hardy, an associate professor of social work at Fayetteville State University and the Democratic nominee for Congress in North Carolina's 7th District.

Hardy talks about her decade as a school social worker, beating a six-term incumbent in the 2020 NC House primary before losing to Diane Wheatley, and why she says a candidate's platform should be shaped by the people she meets. Peter asks the state party's second vice chair whether she can stand up to the party she helps run.

On policy, Hardy makes the case for a single-payer health system and against the new Medicaid requirements, then turns to the district itself: Cumberland County's Tier 1 neighbors, the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge and the toll debate, PFAS, farm tariffs, and college costs for HBCU and military-affiliated students. They close on where two people on opposite sides of the table can still agree.

Hardy faces Republican Rep. David Rouzer, a Libertarian and an independent on the November ballot. Find all of our candidate conversations at thecarolinacabinet.com.

Welcome back to the Carolina Cabinet, Cumberland County's smartest hour of talk radio. Host Peter Pappas sits down with State Rep. Diane Wheatley, who has represented NC House District 43 since 2021.

Wheatley talks about growing up in a military family — born at Fort Campbell, the daughter of an Army paratrooper — and the path that led her from the Cumberland County Board of Education to Raleigh. Peter presses her on bringing state tax dollars home, the 8% average teacher raise in the new state budget, whether school vouchers take money from public schools, and whether anyone is coordinating the school board, the county commissioners, and the local delegation.

A registered nurse, Wheatley explains why her biomarker-testing bill passed the House and never got a Senate hearing, defends the delegation's role in 911 consolidation, and makes her case for another term — hospital growth, rural health care, and staying accessible to constituents.

Wheatley faces Democrat Janene Ackles in November. Find all of our candidate conversations at thecarolinacabinet.com.

Welcome back to another edition of Carolina Cabinet, Cumberland County's smartest hour of talk radio! In this episode, host Peter Pappas sits down in the studio with Greg West, a longtime public servant and current candidate for Cumberland County Commission at Large. With 24 years of experience on the school board, Greg West shares insights from his decades in education, discusses the challenges and victories throughout his tenure—including navigating the COVID-19 pandemic—and explains how his background as a builder and broker shapes his vision for county government.

Together, they dive into everything from the nuances of at-large elections and the crucial relationship between quality schools and community growth, to pressing issues like economic development, infrastructure, and navigating partisan politics at the local level. Whether you care about schools, economic opportunity, or the future of Cumberland County, this conversation is full of candid perspectives and thoughtful discussion about what it means to serve—and the challenges and opportunities facing the community today.

Welcome back to the Carolina Cabinet, Cumberland County’s smartest hour of talk radio. In this episode, Peter Pappas sits down with school board candidate Bryan Moore for an in-depth discussion on the challenges and opportunities facing local education. From the urgent need for greater transparency and communication in school board operations to a push for trade programs and hands-on career pathways for students, Bryan Moore brings fresh ideas shaped by his experience as both a parent with children currently in school and a longtime athletic booster. The conversation tackles issues like underfunded athletics, the importance of community engagement, discipline in classrooms, bus driver shortages, and how strong schools are key to local economic growth. Whether you’re a parent, educator, or concerned citizen, this episode is packed with candid insights into the future of education in Cumberland County. Tune in as Peter Pappas and Bryan Moore explore what it takes to build better schools—and a stronger community.