Friends, my name is Haseeb Fatmi, and I’m running for Wake Forest Commissioner.
I was born and raised in North Carolina and educated in Wake County public schools. This community instilled in me a desire to serve others, and to always fight for what I believe in. I strive to give back to the community as a teacher, attorney, mentor, and volunteer. Now I want to continue helping the community I love by running for Town Commissioner.
My vision is to create a Walkable Wake Forest. A Walkable Wake Forest should be accessible, affordable, and comfortable for all of our residents. That means creating a Wake Forest free from rampant, choking overdevelopment. It means investing in our infrastructure so that we have clean, usable sidewalks, and streets free from congestion. It means ensuring a Wake Forest that is accessible to all, be they new families with strollers, older residents in need of additional support, or those with disabilities. It means creating a safe Town where we can all live side-by-side regardless of our differences in identity and beliefs. A Walkable Wake Forest seeks to maintain and protect our parks and community spaces to keep the Forest green for all of us to enjoy. Here’s how we accomplish this.
Focus on Infrastructure, Not Overdevelopment
Stop the rampant overdevelopment and urban sprawl, and do not let our town be a rubber stamp for developers. Prioritize infrastructural upgrades over unchecked expansion. Focus on development that serves current residents, not just developers. Ensure new projects benefit the community.
Community Revitalization
Promote job growth, support local businesses, and enact sensible economic policies that benefit our residents instead of massive foreign corporations, by strategically using laws, ordinances, and covenants within the Town’s jurisdiction. Hold big businesses accountable and support local enterprises.
Affordability
Fiscal responsibility means respecting your wallet – not making you cover the cost of bad planning. Let’s insist on a balanced budget that avoids tolls and fees, and never shifts the burden of costly projects on to your bottom line.
Accessibility
Every part of our Town should be accessible to every resident, including our senior residents. Ensure disability access to public and commercial spaces. Repair our sidewalks and streets. Extend the Greenway. Encourage mixed use to make our neighborhoods feel like communities.
Transparency and Accountability
Public leadership must work for you, with you, and never around you. No tolerance for the walls that keep people out of the process. Make government easier to understand, easier to access, and actually responsive to its citizens.
Preservation
Wake Forest is a vibe worth protecting. Protect our green spaces like Joyner Park, celebrate our arts and culture, and preserve our natural resources like the watershed and wetlands fed by local creeks. Let's preserve what makes us love Wake Forest and keep the Forest green.
Civic Engagement and Partnership
Support those who serve our community – nonprofits, advocates, and every voice that’s too often ignored. Defend inclusive policies like disability access and Pride Fest. Let’s lead with listening, and make sure our policies reflect empathy, not exclusion. Keep compassion and kindness legal.
