Cyndy Hayworth is a bottom-line kind of person. Hayworth, a candidate for Greensboro City Council, objects to what she calls the posturing and personal agendas of current city council members for one simple reason: It stands in the way of Greensboro moving forward.
Hayworth cited the current controversy over the proposed reopening of the White Street landfill as an example of how politics often trumps public service on the current council.
“The White Street Landfill is very complex and it evolves every day; there’s information coming out every day,” Hayworth said.
It would be a mistake for the city to sign a 15-year contract with a vendor, Hayworth said, because of emerging technologies in waste management. Hayworth questioned the cost savings to the city of reopening White Street versus continuing to have the city’s trash shipped to Montgomery County.
“I’ve had an hour and a half conversation with [City Manager] Rashad Young; I’ve had conversations with council members that say it’s from $6 million to $8 million [in savings] and asked, ‘Where did you get your numbers?’”
Hayworth said. “The red flags are for those numbers to be viable, this, this and this has to happen. It’s kind of like writing a computer program — it’s an if/then statement. It’s the ifs and the thens I have a problem with because I still can’t find any definitive numbers that say, ‘We can take your waste and dispose of it for $6 a ton, period.’”
During its Aug. 16 meeting, the Greensboro City Council selected Gate City Waste Services, which was incorporated five months ago, to operate the White Street Landfill. The council approved the measure by a vote of 4-3.
The city’s deliberations on the White Street Landfill issue reflect an approach that is based on short-term solutions, Hayworth. She suggested bringing waste management vendors, residents, researchers from local colleges and universities as well as elected officials to the table to find a solution that could solve the city’s waste management needs for the next 50 to 100 years.
“We did the same thing with the Randleman dam,” Hayworth said. “We could foresee a water shortage problem, although it took us many more years than we thought it would. We partnered with five municipalities and did the Randleman dam and our water problem is solved for the next 50 to 75 years.”
Hayworth also said the divisiveness over the White Street Landfill issue is palpable both on the council and among Greensboro’s citizens.
“I want to save the taxpayers as much money as I can and you have to ask, is it worth the money you would be paying in lawsuits?” Hayworth said. “Is it worth the climate of the city? If you don’t have a welcoming community, how can you attract new businesses? If you don’t have new businesses, how can you attract jobs? It all plays in together.”
Economic development and job creation are the top two planks in Hayworth’s campaign platform. In light of the contentious nature of the council, Hayworth said she would work to build unity and encourage her fellow council members to take Greensboro in a positive direction.
“It’s a privilege to serve the citizens,” Hayworth said. “As city council, I think we have to work in harmony with the local economic development committees because we should have a unified effort to grow Greensboro’s economy.”
Hayworth, the vice chair of the Greensboro Zoning Commission, said the city council can’t create jobs but it can make Greensboro a more business-friendly environment. Hayworth said she would encourage collaboration with other municipalities in the Piedmont Triad to market the region and make it more attractive for corporate investment. The “education corridor,” which includes the colleges and universities in Alamance, Guilford and Forsyth counties, is an asset that should be utilized on the same scale as Research Triangle Park, Hayworth said.
“The times of putting your head in the sand and saying, ‘Let’s just work for Greensboro,’ are over,” Hayworth said. “We’re going to have to blur the lines and work with other municipalities.”
The education corridor initiative “could be huge,” Hayworth added.
“We could compete nationally [with larger cities] if we could tap into that asset we have right here,” she said.
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