Election season
We also agreed in this morning's meeting that we were favorably impressed by the turnout and the overall substance of the district candidates' forum sponsored Thursday night by the Neighborhood Congress. It's a strong start to what ought to be an unusually lively and competitive city election.
Among the issues that surfaced Thursday night were:]
1. The comprehensive plan. How closely should the City Council follow it?
2. Should Greensboro adopt a "strong mayor" form of government?
3. The gang problem. Most candidates agreed that there is one.
4. Developer and real estate influences on the council. Candidates were split.
5. Term limits: Candidates also were split on whether the council terms should be capped.
6. Police staffing. They uniformly agreed that theren't aren't enough police but didn't agree on how to pay for more.
District 4 Councilman Mike Barber’s suggestion that the city dump its Minority and Women’s Business Enterprise program to fund a police gang unit.
Meanwhile, we begin the first of 33 candidate interviews for the city elections next week. This is a departure from previous elections when we've conducted group interviews.
Here is our schedule thus far:
Aug 13, 11 a.m. -- Joseph Rahenkamp (AL, or at-large)
Aug. 13, 1 p.m. -- Robbie Perkins (AL)
Aug 14, 11 a.m. -- Donna Riechmann (AL)
Aug. 14, 1 p.m. -- Joe Venable (AL)
Aug. 15, 11:30 a.m -- Joel Landau (AL)
Aug 15, 1 p.m. -- Kevin Green (AL)
Aug. 16, 11 a.m. -- Charles Coffey (Dist. 1)
Aug. 16, 1 p.m. -- Joe Wilson (Dist. 3)
Aug. 20, 11 a.m. -- Bill Knight (AL)
Aug. 20, 1 p.m. -- Angela Carmichael (Dist. 5)
Aug. 21, 11 a.m. -- Mary Rakestraw (AL)
Aug. 21, 1 p.m. -- Sandy Carmany (Dist. 5)
Aug. 22, 11 a.m -- Gary Nixon (Dist. 3)
Aug 22, 1 p.m. -- Janet Wallace (AL)
Aug 23, 11 a.m. --Tonya Clinkscale (Dist. 1)
Aug. 23, 1 p.m. --Trudy Wade (Dist. 5)
Aug. 27, 11 a.m. -- Berkley Blanks (Dist. 3)
Aug. 27, 1 p.m. -- Dianne Bellamy-Small (Dist. 1)
Aug. 28, 11:00 -- Cyndy Hayworth (Dist. 3)
Aug. 28, 1:00 -- James Carpenter (Dist. 1)
Aug. 29, 11:00 -- Sidney Gray (AL)
Aug. 29 , 1:00 --Greg Woodard (AL)
Aug. 30, 11:00 --Sandra Anderson Groat (AL)
Aug. 30. 1:00 -- Greg Woodard (AL)
Sept. 4, 11:00 -- Luther Falls (Dist. 1)
Sept. 4, 1:00 -- Zack Matheny (Dist. 3)
If there are questions or issues you'd like the candidates to address, please let us know.
Comments (3)
To report abuse of the comment feature on this site, please use the feedback form at the bottom of any page.
Allen,
Just out of curiosity, how long was allotted for the group interviews you did in the past, and how long are you allotting for the individual interviews?
I think it's a good move, even though I suspect it will take your editorial board more time to conduct the individual interviews.
The problem with group interviews is that individuals are often influenced by others' responses.
If one person says something, it might affect what others say.
(I've experienced this when interviewing students in groups before, compared to when I've interviewed individual students. I don't know if the same would be as true with adults.)
I'd be curious to find out how the results compare with what you've witnessed in the past and whether you decide that it's a preferable approach for the future.
I admire the experiment and look forward to reading what you write about the candidates.
Saw you last night, but didn't get a chance to say "hello."
Hope you're doing well, and have a great weekend!
Sincerely,
Hardy
Posted on August 10, 2007 9:52 PM
Hardy:
Thanks for your thoughts. I'm sorry as well I didn't get to speak to you at the forum Thursday.
We're allotting a half-hour to 40 minutes for each interview.
Theoretically, they should take about the same total amount of time as the group sessions, if we manage time the way we should.
The group interviews took an hour to an hour and a half. (We split the at-large interviews into two groups.)
You're right about the disadvantages of the group interview, although I like comparing views and knowledge on the spot.
Given the magnitude of the 2008 election (including High Point city elections), I'm not sure we'll have the luxury of one-on-one interviews for every office.
Posted on August 11, 2007 12:53 PM
Allen
I don't think we should adopt a
"strong mayor" system; I do think we should require civil sevrice tests, though.
Posted on August 12, 2007 9:15 AM