JOBS
Productive work drives communities. It offers a sense of purpose, puts food on the table, and provides means for professional and personal advancement. As much as Greenville has to offer, we must do better in recruiting and retaining employers and talent to come here. It shouldn’t be difficult: We have so much to offer with a strong university and vocational school, a state-of-the-art regional hospital, and major industrial employers seeking qualified help.
All of our economic development resources need to work together as one to recruit companies that can bring living wage jobs to our area. We need our core stakeholders to synchronize their efforts. Our multiple economic development offices, Vidant, East Carolina University, Pitt Community College, and strategic employers need to band together and convey similar messaging that communicates the opportunity that abounds in Greenville.
PUBLIC SAFETY
Most citizens agree that public safety is a priority. After all, who doesn’t wish to feel safe and secure in their own home and community? Our children should be safe in our parks, our families should be able enjoy all the resources that Greenville has to offer, and we should expect first responders to be well-trained and responsive. At the same time, our first responders deserve more than just our appreciation: They need our support through wise administration of our tax dollars, our vigilance, and good conduct. As your councilman, I’ll do my best to lead by example by bringing citizen concerns to their attention while standing up for their needs.
What is your vision for Greenville in 5, 10, 15, or even 20 years? Failing to plan is planning to fail. Cities need to have short term and long term plans in place. Where will a performing arts center, a minor league baseball stadium, or an outdoor amphitheater be located? How will we handle the rising enrollment of ECU and development and traffic that comes with those students? How can we mitigate our commuting and infrastructure issues today while accommodating for future growth?
If we wish to address these questions intelligently, we cannot fail to plan. Our city has the resources in place to address these needs and we need to challenge our leaders and those responsible to think beyond just the current council term, instead orienting them towards considering tradeoffs between today and the future, our needs and those of our children, and investing now versus kicking the can down the road.
SMART GROWTH
Greenville is growing; keeping up with our growth means that we must invest in our city. We have not dedicated enough of our resources to continuously improving our roads and traffic solutions. We need to invest in making Greenville more of a pedestrian- and cyclist-friendly city. We need to create reasons for companies to relocate to Greenville.
As with most cities, we have limited resources and unlimited needs. We should prioritize our needs and direct our resources to those areas but at the same time holding our leaders accountable to being good stewards of our taxpayer dollars.
INVEST IN GREENVILLE