News-Record.com

Interested in a little election action? Check out our online log of questionnaires from candidates for Greensboro City Council.

There's a lot of info there. Pace yourself, people.

At-large questionnaires coming. Promise.

Some more candidates have filed campaign finance reports.

The News & Record is going to hold town meetings in Districts 1 and 3 in a couple of weeks. This will be a chance for you, the voter, to tell us what you want from your elected leaders, how city government can better serve you and what the city's vision should be as we elect a new mayor and some new faces on City Council. We've heard from the candidates, but we want to hear from you.

The meetings:
District 1: Tuesday, Sept. 18, Glenwood Library, 1901 W. Florida St. Stay tuned, we have a room booked but not at the most preferable time, and we're working on a Plan B.
District 3: 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 20, Benjamin Library, 1530 Benjamin Parkway.

Thursday night, Sept. 6, is your chance to hear from a handful of candidates in the Greensboro elections.

A forum for at-large candidates is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Peeler Recreation Center, 1300 Sykes Ave. The Concerned Citizens of Northeast Greensboro is sponsoring and has commitments from all 13 candidates except for Joseph Rahenkamp. The at-large field will be trimmed to six during voting in the primary Oct. 9. Information: Ralph Johnson, 988-6001.

Mayoral candidates Yvonne Johnson and Milton Kern will be at a forum at 6:45 p.m. at 6600 W. Market St. The Democratic Women of Guilford County is the sponsor. Johnson and Kern do not face a primary and will be on the general election ballot Nov. 6. Information: 315-5532.

A list of upcoming forums for the Greensboro elections:

Tuesday, Sept. 18: Mayoral, 12:15 p.m., sponsored by the League of Women Voters, Trinity Episcopal Church, 607 N. Greene St. Information: 297-9948.

Monday, Sept. 24: At-large, 7 p.m., sponsored by the League of Women Voters, Royce Reynolds Family Student Life Center at Greensboro College, Tate and Market streets. Information: 297-9948.

Thursday, Oct. 4: District and at-large, 6:45 p.m., sponsored by the Democratic Women of Guilford County, 6600 West Market St. (west of Chimney Rock; one-story red brick building with green panels). Carpooling suggested. Information: 315-5532.

Thursday, Oct. 18: Mayoral, 6:45 p.m., sponsored by the Neighborhood Congress, Nussbaum Room of the Greensboro Central Library, 219 N. Church St. Information: 851-2748.

Monday, Oct. 22: At-large, 6:45 p.m., sponsored by the Neighborhood Congress, Nussbaum Room of the Greensboro Central Library, 219 N. Church St. Information: 851-2748.

Monday, Oct. 22: Mayoral, 7:30 p.m., co-sponsored by the Temple Emanuel Brotherhood and Social Action Committee, 1129 Jefferson Road. The Temple Brotherhood will collect questions from the audience for a questions-and-answers period. Information: 292-8799.

Wednesday, Oct. 24: District, 7 p.m., sponsored by the League of Women Voters, Royce Reynolds Family Student Life Center at Greensboro College, Tate and Market streets. Information: 297-9948.

Just a reminder, the deadline for voter registration for the primary is coming soon: 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 14.

Find out the details, including how to get forms and where to register, here.

It's official: Charlotte's mayoral race matches former Greensboro residents Pat McCrory against Beverly Earle.

McCrory, bidding for his seventh term, easily defeated Ken Gjertsen in yesterday's Republican primary.

Earle, serving her seventh term in the N.C. House of Representatives, is the Democratic candidate.

A native of Greensboro, Earle, 63, graduated from Dudley High School and attended A&T.

McCrory, 50, was born in Ohio but grew up in Greensboro and graduated from Ragsdale High School.

His campaign has raised an incredible $800,000, The Charlotte Observer reports today. Mayoral candidates in Greensboro muster only a small fraction of that much money.

Earle, too. She had less than $18,000 in her campaign account at the first of September, the Observer adds.

Over on the right, you'll find a permanent link to candidate web sites. I just added two: one for District 5 candidate Trudy Wade, and a new Web site for mayoral hopeful Milton Kern.

Hi readers: Watch for a couple of features in Sunday's News & Record.

One is a story by Margaret Moffett Banks on where the at-large candidates running for Greensboro City Council live. Most are from the northern, western and northwestern parts of the city. That's scheduled for the front page.

A second feature, set for page B7 in the Local section, is a guide to the election. Early voting begins Thursday, so we're trying to help folks be more prepared. It's a full page and includes bios, web site or blog URLs and quick-hit information about each of the 26 candidates on the ballot. If you're not voting early, hang on to it, although we'll have much more as the primary approaches on Oct. 9.

UPDATE: You can find the PDF here.

The questionnaires filled out by the 13 at-large candidates for Greensboro City Council are finally posted.

About 30 folks showed up at the Glenwood Branch Library on Tuesday night for our first town meeting, in District 1. We've interviewed candidates and read what they consider to be issues, but this town meeting was our chance to hear from the people as the primary election of Oct. 9 approaches.

And wow! These Greensboro residents were well-informed and full of passion. They were black and white, young and a little older, from District 1 but also from other parts of the city. They told us what they thought about crime, economic development and communities. But they talked to each other as well, lingering in the meeting room and the parking lot.

A handful of candidates listened, too. And by listened, we mean they respected our request that the meeting be about what the voters had to say. So the candidates kept quiet.

You can read staff writer Jason Hardin's account here.

We've got one more of these on Thursday night, to hear about issues in District 3 (and others are welcome, too). It's at 6:30 p.m. at the Benjamin Branch Library, 1530 Benjamin Parkway. We are truly looking forward to hearing more from you. Hope to see you there!

1. Janet M. Wallace
City Council At-large

You are invited to attend
A Spaghetti Supper
With Janet M. Wallace
Candidate for City Council At-Large
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Floating from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
The Cellar at Anton's Restaurant
1628 Battleground Avenue
$30 per person, $50 per couple

Please RSVP by Friday, September 21, 2007
to 336-854-0432 or janetmarie519@cs.com

****************************************************************
2. Joel Landau, City Council at-large

Thursday, September 20, 2007 at 5:30 - 7:00 p.m.
Reception
At the home of Bob and Signe Foxworth
2506 Pinecroft Road, Greensboro (near Four Seasons)

Saturday, September 22, 2007 at 7:00-9:30 p.m.
Reception
At the home of Ben Wilson and Nancy Yow
819 Larkwood Dr., Greensboro (off W. Friendly - West of Jefferson)
Live Music by Brad Reaves

Tuesday, October 2, 2007 at 5:30 - 7 p.m.
Reception
At the home of Kim Yarbray
4407 Graham Road, Greensboro (in Hamilton Lakes neighborhood)

Your chance to hear from the at-large candidates for Greensboro City Council comes at 7 p.m.today. The League of Women Voters is hosting a forum at Greensboro College's Reynolds Family Student Center, 1115 W. Market St., Information: Rebecca Klase, 297-9948.