The following is City Council At-Large candidate Joel Landau's complete response to our survey. Click here for the list of questions.
Joel Landau
• Date of birth: Aug. 13, 1951
• Professional background: General manager, Deep Roots Market; former owner and manager, Joel’s Natural Foods; part-time musician, guitar and mandolin
• Previous political experience: Member, Greensboro Planning Board; at-large candidate for Greensboro City Council, 2005
• Highest level of education: Bachelor of science, industrial and labor relations, Cornell University
• Website: joellandau.com
1. The compact details excellent specific measures to reduce emissions. I was a leader of the recent successful effort to have city council adopt the US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement. This makes it official city policy to aggressively pursue emissions reduction. The city can do more by better limiting urban sprawl, better promoting anti-idling rules for city employees, giving greater priority to making Greensboro bike-friendly and walkable, and making the bus system more user friendly. (75)
2. First, improve bus service. This will have the greatest immediate impact to reduce air pollution, and benefit the most people right away. Simultaneously, prioritize improving bicycle facilities to make this a viable transportation option (see joellandau.com for specific suggestions). Light rail is a great goal, but is too expensive short-term. Last is new roads. New roads usually destroy habitat and tree canopy, and lead to sprawl and increased automotive use, and hence more air pollution. (76)
3. More aggressively assist our locally owned businesses. This would include startups and existing businesses. Money spent at these gets more recirculation locally, thus helping the economy more. Provide infrastructure: education and training, excellent transportation network.
Aggressively promote Greensboro as “green” friendly and pursue green businesses to locate here. Also, improve quality of life in ways that will entice more of our college grads to want to stay here; provide technical support where needed. (74)
4. In general I oppose the use of taxpayer money to increase the profits of a private company. In practice we do it all the time through tax policies, special credits, etc. I might consider an incentives request if the company has roots in our community, it doesn’t disadvantage a locally owned business, and is tied to City policy. For instance, we need more jobs in northeast Greensboro: make an incentive conditional upon that being provided. (76)
5. These are the lifeblood of our community, creating jobs and increasing local wealth. Increase training, lending and advisory support for local entrepreneurs. Have one person on staff who can help resolve bureaucratic issues and guide a start-up through licenses, permits, etc. If incentives are considered, they should be geared towards local businesses and available to all regardless of size. Establish a low or no-interest revolving loan fund to help local businesses.
6. Yes. When a poor person earns more money, it’s spent locally on basic needs. This will stimulate the local economy. It will also reduce social assistance payouts, as the need will be diminished. It may also reduce crime, since more people will be able to earn enough to meet their basic needs.
$9.36/hour is the 2007 equivalent of what the minimum was in 1968. This is a basic adjustment that is long overdue. (76)
7. I generally oppose fringe development. “Sprawl” goes counter to important goals, such as reducing air pollution, promoting mass transit and preserving open space. It also usually makes for inefficient provision of city resources, at taxpayers expense. (The new fire stations are part of the cost of fringe development — very costly.) The more we build on the fringe, the more vehicle miles are driven, increasing air pollution and health care costs. Prioritize preserving our natural resources. (76)
8. I’m saddened by the prospect of developing a large area of relatively open space. My understanding though is that this area is being developed anyway, and through planning we may mitigate the negative impacts. Having said that, we need to reexamine the proposed road corridors, and open up the whole process to the entire community. It’s a disgrace that residents and other concerned citizens weren’t included in the HOT planning process. Let’s fix that immediately. (76)
9. City council needs to make clear that discriminatory behavior, racial or otherwise, will not be tolerated. The council needs to exercise its oversight role and ask hard questions and insist on straight answers when problems arise. Also, the public needs to be kept as fully informed as legally allowable on all city matters. Meanwhile, Chief Bellamy is new to the job and deserves full support and the opportunity to set affairs straight. (73)
10. I’d like an active dialogue about a police-civilian review board with subpoena power. What is the experience of cities that have one, such as Winston-Salem? Often overlooked is that the board would be filled by both civilians and police officers (or retired officers). It’s imperative that the community trust the police. Police work is special in nature and needs community support. Would such a board help attain these objectives? Let’s discuss the pros and cons. (76)
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