GREENSBORO, N.C. — Two candidates for Greensboro mayor faced off in a debate Monday ahead of next month's election.
The debate at Prestige Barber College covered poverty, crime, jobs, housing, and how the next mayor could address those issues equitably.
One topic discussed was how to help low-income people post-pandemic. City Councilmember Justin Outling suggests finding ways to keep their taxes low.
"We're going to be likely in an economic recession, inflation is out of control, and wages have been largely flat," Outling said. "I've been working with others on the city council to make sure that low-income persons don't pay any more in city taxes."
Mayor Nancy Vaughan focused on housing programs the city has in place.
"The best way we can keep someone housed is to keep them from getting evicted," Vaughan said.
With companies like Toyota, Boom Supersonic and Publix set to begin hiring around Greensboro in the coming years, candidates also talked about making sure people who live in Greensboro get those jobs.
Vaughan discussed building a workforce.
"We will work with Boom and Toyota. They have very specific qualifications that they need. We are going to go out through our community colleges and hire professors who can teach specifically to those jobs," Vaughan said.
Outling shifted focus to East Greensboro and young people.
"Having a youth job guarantee for at-risk youth, not an internship program for everyone in our city, but a jobs guarantee for at-risk youth," Outling said.
Both were asked how they would address violent crime. Outling suggested a greater investment in policing.
"In terms of intervention, it means our law enforcement community also needs to have the resources to respond to crime," Outling said.
He also wants to expand the Cure Violence program. Vaughan said the city has already invested under her leadership.
"We've been working with the county and speaking to the Guilford County Board of Commission Chair," Vaughan said. "He said there is another $250,000 dollars in the county budget to support Cure Violence. We are still doing our full allotment at $500,000."
The candidates also talked a lot about policing, specifically, the list of policies called 8 Can't Wait. Outling said they need to establish these ideas. Vaughan said they're already on the books.
We couldn't immediately verify either way, but we plan to dig in further.
Both agreed to talk about it at a future city council meeting.