Voterspeak Question 9: what's in a county commissioner candidate?
Voterspeak is discussing what they want in a Guilford County commissioner.
Ths question: What are the main issues that you’re using to weigh candidates in the county commissioners races? Are you most concerned about infrastructure? Economic development (or the lack of it)? Taxes, spending and government efficiency? County services? Another issue? Why?
Join the conversation in the comments section at the bottom of the page.
Jeff Bartolet, 38, Republican: Who will promote fiscal responsibility and accountability? We need commissioners who will invest the mind power to think through board decisions before making them; people who will research ways to prosper the county without increasing taxes. We need commissioners who will be creative, proactive, and humble, willing to think outside the box of tax and spend.
Phyllis Davis, 64, Republican: I would be most concerned about government efficiency and the total operations of government. A fair tax increase that would generate revenue from all and not just property owners. And of course we will have commissioner Yow to insure a watchful eye for the majority of the citizens in the county of Guilford!
Kendall Garvin, 29, unaffiliated: One thing I look at with the incumbents is their effectiveness in meeting. If the candidate spend their time in meetings making rude contacts and/or arguing with someone then they are not being an effective mature commissioner.
Trevor Hamm, 25, Democrat: Spending and efficiency are important to me. I think that it’s important to know a commissioner’s priorities when it comes to what they’re willing to approve. For instance, I 'd like to see someone vote to put more money into education before he/she votes to build another prison. Overall, I think we should elect commissioners who really put the long-term best interests of the people first.
Mike Kelly, 60, Republican: This year’s election allows the voters of Guilford County to rid itself of six commissioners, two of which (and we know who they are!) have been a toxic presence on the board. We have the opportunity to begin to change this theater of the absurd into at least a semblance of what public service should be. My point being that incumbents have gotta go.
In view of the on-going global financial crisis all attention must be focused on fiscal responsibility. Those programs which are sort of nice to have but are not essential to the efficient management of county government business should no longer be funded.
The citizens of this county can begin these belt tightening measures by voting “No” for the bond proposals. It is no longer “Morning in America”, at least for the nonce and we must realize that all non-essential services must be shelved until our economy has been righted.
Marlene Costa Nielsen, 67, Democrat: I would like to see less partisan bickering and more cooperation among the commissioners. Guilford County is facing shortfalls in revenue from property taxes and retail sales and will need to find ways to provide essential services as efficiently as possible.
Kate Peeples, 27, unaffiliated: I kind of think the new folks running for commissioners’ seats (and maybe incumbents as well, and those not up for re-election too) perhaps ought to take personality tests, and voters should use that information. Then maybe we can put together a group of county commissioners who can spend more time governing properly and less time bickering.
Joking (and wishful thinking) aside, if we should be so lucky to get a group that gets along, the issue I’d most like them to address is economic development. Guilford County has done a so-so job in attracting some companies to create jobs here in an admittedly difficult economic climate. I’d like to see the commissioners put more effort into that, and into supporting those new jobs by supporting better technical training and living wages.
Deonna Kelli Sayed, 34, Democrat: Ah, the local races! How many people actually know who is running for these seats without referring to the N&R first? Most know amazingly little about local races.
I’m new to Greensboro so I asked other residents about this one.
Local government has done well fostering an environment to bring high profile companies to the area. Greensboro is a well-planned, green city with admirable parks and recreation. I’d vote to keep what we have in good shape but not to add any new projects during these pitiful economic times. I’ve spent time in New York state where some public schools systems are horrible so I appreciate Guilford county schools. However, the change in school bus services due to fuel cost has affected my children (and no one in the Guilford County School Transportation office has returned my 10 calls).
This leads to another point: despite all the good things about Greensboro, many people feel county and city government stinks. There seems to be inefficiency, corruption, dishonestly, and lack of professionalism among local government. I’d like to see candidates have a more public personality, engage with average citizens. For example, county commissioners could visit high school civics classes to inform youth about local issues. Show some transparency regarding local decisions. I’d like to see a candidate bring local government out in the open, rebrand local government into something more engaging. I I will look for integrity and insight when it comes to the local races.
Mike Sigmon, 61, Republican: I looking for candidates who are working for the taxpayer and not playing of game of “us & them” and “gotcha” politics, The district/ward system of election enables people with views on the outer edge of politics to hamper working for the good of the entire county.
Guilford County needs a smaller, and balanced, budget. There are too many sacred cows in the budget line items.
We need to continue the recruitment of good paying jobs (FedEx, BioTech firms etc).
Greater oversight of grants to nonprofit organizations is needed. Too many of them are related to the folks mentioned in the first paragraph or are not properly reported and administered for the proclaimed objective.
Ruth Mary Weston, 54, Democrat: I’ll be casting one vote in the County Commissioners section: Paul Gibson, At-Large.
He dropped by my house during his first race, and I liked his idea of building up a surplus to cushion budget problems. He’s a pragmatist, a consensus-seeker, and practical while working out of an idealistic vision. I think that results in good ideas. Also a biggie for me, he acts like a responsible adult!
In my District, Mike Winstead is unopposed. Nothing against him personally, but as a former home builder/developer, I’d say my ilk is already over-represented in both city and county government.
It’s obvious our economic meltdown will substantially reduce revenues from sales taxes. Property taxes are likely to remain unpaid as household budgets are strained. Balancing the budget will be the biggest challenge. Fund the must-haves generously, the like-to-haves cautiously. Take this opportunity to carefully review the performance of all programs and agencies, and study how County Departments can support each others’ work. I.e: A problematic railroad crossing was fixed after long struggles with the railroad. A few months later a different department had to tear it up for another project, never to be fixed right again - that’s just stupid!
I’d like to see any business incentives targeted at new small, local businesses, especially in alternative energy development. With our colleges and universities, available business parks, empty commercial property, transportation infrastructure and new school superintendent, there’s a huge opportunity to be a key hub for this new industry.
