Greensboro Candidates Take The Stage At Community Forum

The League of Women Voters is helping Greensboro residents prepare for the city's October municipal primaries.

The nonpartisan organization invited the city's three mayoral candidates and six at-large council candidates to participate in a community forum on Tuesday.

With so many candidates on stage, each had only a short time to speak, but all had a chance to respond to a variety of questions from the moderator and the audience.

Topics ranged from lofty items like fighting food insecurity and creating affordable housing, to day-to-day challenges like solid waste management. They even had a chance to weigh in on the embattled International Civil Rights Museum, which brought some passionate responses from the more than 100 people listening.

Anna Fesmire, co-president of the League of Women Voters of the Piedmont Triad, believes the forum was a success. She says having the candidates all in one place, answering the same questions, gives voters a fair chance to compare and contrast potential community leaders.

“I believe that today really gave the public an opportunity to understand how each candidate's mind works,” Fesmire said.

While candidates disagreed on how to approach certain issues, they often found common ground, and even applauded previous council decisions on things like supporting Greensboro's international community.

And everyone agreed on the final question. When asked if they'd support nonpartisan redistricting in North Carolina, every candidate said “yes.”

Greensboro's municipal primary takes place October 6^th.