Three City Council candidates addressed the public at the WCCDC forum last Saturday. RTheNeepwos-news editor Maybe the voters had already made up their minds, or maybe it was the short notice, but only a handful of voters turned out for Saturday’s forum for city council candidates sponsored by the Wilkes County Community Development Corporation (WCCDC).

Not counting organizers and candidates Maceo Mahoney, Rev. G.L. Avery, and incumbent council member Patricia Wilder, only a dozen or so people spent their Saturday afternoon listening to questions that were generated by Mayor Willie Burns’ WCCDC.

A list of questions passed out to the audience at the beginning showed that the event had an unstated agenda. One question was presented as follows: “Question: Would you Agree or disagree that the present City Charter has disenfranchised the majority citizens of their representation on the Council because their major (sic) can only represent them with a tie vote? Which is seldom exercised because of the usual voting pattern of 4-2 votes by sitting councilperson?”

Another question asked by moderator Charles Jackson just left candidates a little confused: “What would you say are the top three economic development critical success factors for Washington? And how would you rate your critical success factors on a weighted scale?”

Despite the questions, the candidates used the opportunity to tell the handful of voters why they should be elected to the council, and what they thought were Washington’s strengths and weaknesses. Incumbent Patricia Wilder said that she had served for eight years on the council as “a servant to the people – the people’s voice to the city government.”

“I’m not afraid to do the hard things,” she said, “not always the most popular things, but what is best for the community.” She said her top priority was to keep taxes down and the cost of city government down. “It affects our senior citizens especially, but it affects every single one of us,” she said.

Rev. Avery spoke of his administrative skills and “the ability to make the tough decisions,” learned through decades of public service and leadership of Baptist churches he has pastored. “If elected, I’d be elected from the First District, but I’d serve the whole city. I’m not beholden to any group or individual.”

The two experienced hands at city government agreed on the city’s greatest asset. “Truly, the people of Washington are its greatest asset,” Wilder said, “young and old, black and white, every one of us.”

“Whether you realize it or not,” Rev. Avery said, “in a few years some of our children will be mayor, will be council members, county commissioners, congressmen, even president. They’re the greatest asset we have. It is incumbent on us to prepare them for the days ahead.”

Asked about the factors critical to success in Washington’s economic development, Maceo Mahoney said that workforce development was top for him. “We’ve got to have more workforce development to teach our people how to tap into resources, learning how to write a resume, learning how to qualify for certain jobs. We’ve going to have to instill in them workforce development to get our people back started working.”

Mahoney said that for him, “the city’s greatest concern is diversity. We’re divided.”

Another priority for Mahoney was self-help programs. He urged the churches and individuals in the community to pitch in and help students having trouble in school.

Reconstruction was also a priority for Mahoney. “Personally, I believe we just need to tear everything back down and start again,” he said. “We have an African-American mayor, but the community has got to work with him. And it’s got to ask for accountability.”

Wilder said that educating and training the city’s workforce was vital to bring in new jobs. “If we’re to have good businesses come in, we have to have a well-educated workforce.”

She spoke of a local executive who told her that he saw too many employees with a poor work ethic and poor work habits. “We need to teach our people not just how to get a job, but how to remain on that job and be successful.”

The assets that Washington has, Wilder said, offer tremendous opportunities for the years to come. She spoke of the asset of city’s location between I-20 and I-75 with a major artery passing by. “We have terrific location, we have land availability, water, and schools of excellence” and other factors like a community collaborative that is used as a model for the whole state, she said.

Rev. Avery shared her hope. “Washington has been able to rise above what some cities are standing in, and working together we can make this a great city.”

The election for Washington City Council members from Districts 1 and 2 is Tuesday, November 8. Advance voting begins next Monday, October 31.