Residential address: Kemp Road West (map)
Incumbent or challenger? Challenger
Age: 52
Campaign website: voteabraham.com (link)
Endorsements: Carolyn Allen, Cal Cunningham, Guilford County Community PAC, Pricey Harrison, Keith Holliday, News & Record, Occupy Greensboro Media Group, David Parker, Replacements Limited PAC, Jeff Thigpen, the Victory Fund and YES! Weekly
Occupation and employer: Executive director, Personal Care
Previous elective experience (including election campaigns): None
Civic and volunteer experience (including service on city commissions and boards): Human Relations Commission, 2003-2010, including service as chair, 2006-2008; cofounder, Triad Health Project; graduate, Other Voices; past member, Racial Justice and Reconciliation Committee of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina
Education (highest degree attained and name of institution): Master’s in business administration, Bryan School of Business, UNCG
Party registration: Democrat (nonpartisan contest)
What is the city of your birth? Adrian, Mich.
What year did you move here? 1977
Paid consultants working on your campaign: None at the moment (June 28)
Campaign manager: Jack Register
Treasurer: Nick Divitci
Do you favor or oppose reopening the White Street Landfill for household waste, beyond the small amount of sewer sludge currently accepted? Briefly explain your position.
I oppose reopening the White Street Landfill to household waste. I favor maintaining the current disposal process for the near term. I support reopening discussions to implement a regional solution in Randolph County and opening new discussions with city staff concerning innovative and environmentally sustainable solutions for the long term, such as the waste-to-energy initiative or the example that Catawba County provides. I also support an open and honest discussion of this issue with all of our citizens, a discussion that seeks common ground and the common good, not division and animosity, which will only lead to economic decline.
Where do you stand on the “strong manager” form of city government and why?
The strong manager form of government has served us well for a long time, and I see no reason to change it. Successful businesses use a similar model: the board of directors (in this case, the city council) sets the strategic direction, hires a professional CEO (city manager), and reviews performance against objectives. The city council is composed of elected representatives of the people, not a group of professional city managers. We must be willing to let the professionals do their jobs. Clearly, if we’ve learned anything from the current city council, it’s that elected representatives cannot run a city as well as qualified city management professionals.
Should the city of Greensboro place more or less emphasis on maintaining a healthy water and sewer fund to plan for future growth? Why or why not?
The City of Greensboro should place more emphasis on maintaining a healthy water and sewer fund to plan for future growth. As the recent breakdown of the water system in New York showed, you cannot expect infrastructure to work forever or to maintain itself. You have to be prepared for regular maintenance, future growth and the unexpected. It would be foolish to continue the crippling cuts to infrastructure funding we’ve seen with the current city council. Site consultants for companies looking to relocate to our area will want to be assured that our public systems are capable of handling added users.
The city’s tax base has remained flat for the past two years in a row, and the foreclosure crisis continues unabated. As a member of city council, how would you balance the need to fund services such as police patrol, fire protection and park maintenance that citizens care about with the reality that the revenue picture remains bleak?
The revenue picture is bleak but we have an obligation to provide a safe and healthy city for all of our citizens. This is not the time for cutting spending just to cut spending, but rather to spend even more wisely. This is exactly the kind of situation in which we must rely on well qualified professional city managers to help us make wise choices and smart investments. It is not the time for the kind of partisan bickering, cuts in funding for business development, and ill-advised costs for things like landfill studies and the resulting lawsuits that we have experienced under our current city council. Generating sustainable economic growth is how we can best address the need for revenue.
Do you believe that city staff deserves council support to implement a program to spend federal grant money to improve the energy efficiency of residences and businesses, or does this program warrant additional oversight from council? Briefly explain your position.
I believe that city staff deserves council’s support to implement this program. This is not the time for us to turn down $5 million in federal funds. We can ill afford to ignore the positive impact these funds will have on jobs for our citizens. I appreciate some of the concerns voiced by others, however I am confident our city staff can make the program work to the benefit of our citizens. The members of our city council do not have the expertise to micromanage this program.
How would you assess the value and effectiveness of Greensboro’s Rental Unit Certificate of Occupancy program, which is now prohibited by state law?
RUCO was an excellent program. It reduced our substandard housing by 80 percent, which helped all of us with the value of our own homes. We lost this program because our current city council refused to defend our right to local control. Without so much as a simple resolution in opposition, they let Raleigh make a decision that was Greensboro’s to make. This should never have happened and I will work to see that it does not happen again.
How should the impasse over management and operation of the Greensboro Farmers Curb Market be resolved?
For once, I agree with the city council’s decision to let the nonprofit group handle the local farmer’s market. This is exactly the kind of “buy local” strategy that helps our local economy.
What, if anything, should be done to resolve racial tensions, and to enhance professionalism, integrity and fairness within the Greensboro Police Department?
All of us want a police department that exhibits professionalism, integrity and fairness to every resident. That is their responsibility as our city employees. Racial tensions are best resolved through ongoing communication among all parties, and I support regular neighborhood meetings between police and residents. I support a strong city human relations commission to monitor tensions, resolve issues and keep city council informed of public sentiment. I support ongoing training and development for members of our police force. And I expect our city manager to be open and honest with city council on any issues that threaten the safety of any of our citizens.
What would you change about Greensboro’s land use patterns if the decision were yours to make? Please answer the question in terms of places people live, work and shop, in terms of the modes of transportation people use to get from point to point and the vitality of neighborhoods and commercial corridors?
I support Connections 2025, the comprehensive plan developed by our citizens and approved by City Council in 2003. It has very clear priorities on land use, transportation and a whole host of other equally important issues. I would work with city council to recommit city staff to implementing that plan, in conjunction with the Sustainability Committee’s plan.
What is Greensboro’s greatest asset? What is Greensboro’s most pressing problem?
Greensboro’s greatest asset is its people. We have a wonderfully diverse population, with a tremendous amount of talent, ability and potential. We need to nurture those talents and abilities, and harness that potential to address our most pressing problem: our economy. We must act quickly to restore Greensboro’s image as a well-run and well-governed city. We must show, once again, that we are serious about maintaining our infrastructure so businesses can feel good, not only about locating here but expanding here as well. We must create an environment in which our local businesses combine forces with our talented and capable residents to create and maintain the quality of life we all deserve.
Articles about this candidate:
2011 general election voter guide (link)Taxes and spending: Where Greensboro City Council candidates stand (link)
Danny Thompson's specious landfill numbers (link)
Abraham will stay in race, hopes to win with Abuzuaiter and Johnson (link)
Greensboro primary: at-large analysis (link)
Mayoral challenger Perkins swamps incumbent Knight (link)
2011 primary election endorsement & voter guide (link)
At-large candidates in Greensboro municipal election struggle to differentiate themselves (link)
Campaign season underway in Greensboro municipal elections (link)
Candidate profile: Wayne Abraham (link)
Landfill fight estranges human relations commission from council (link)
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