David Crawford, candidate for Greensboro City Council District 5. (photo by Keith T. Barber)
As the CEO of Greensboro Recycling Center, it’s no mystery why David Crawford has made his opposition to the reopening of the White Street Landfill the centerpiece of his campaign for Greensboro City Council.
“I think [District 5 Council Member Trudy Wade] is going to get something out of it,” Crawford said. “I think she has more to be involved in than just a vote. Basically, I think [all council members] are just out for themselves. You notice everyone on the council is saying, ‘Open, open, open it,’ and no one is looking at what else we can do.”
“It’s just open it, quick fix and then when it gets filled, what are you going to do then?” Crawford added.
On Aug. 16, the Greensboro City Council approved a resolution to select Gate City Waste Services to operate the White Street Landfill. Wade cast one of the four votes to approve the resolution. On Tuesday, Gate City Waste Services notified the city of Greensboro that it was withdrawing its bit to operate the landfill. Greensboro City Council had the opportunity to vote on extending its contract with Republic Services to receive the city’s solid waste at its Uwharrie Environmental Landfill in Montgomery County through the end of the year during its regular meeting this week. By approving the extension, the city council could buy itself some time to postpone a long-term decision on the landfill until after the Nov. 8 municipal election.
Crawford said he’s received more than 200 letters from concerned citizens in recent months expressing strong opposition to reopening the landfill.
“We’ve to find another solution,” Crawford said. “I think the landfill should stay closed. They’ve built too many homes around it. We don’t know what kind of health issues it could be causing; nobody’s researched it.”
The other major planks of Crawford’s campaign platform include making the city’s Economic Development & Business Support Office more user-friendly and hiring more police officers.
“It would be nice if they had an information packet [at the Economic Development office] that would tell you what was available for each person and what you could apply for,” Crawford said. “It’s like applying for a grant; it could be promoted better.”
Crawford said he’s opposed to merging of the Greensboro Police Department and the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office. Rather, Crawford said he would advocate for putting more cops on the street and raising the salaries of all first responders. Crawford said he’s spoken with a number of residents of the 5th District who have complained about the slow response times of the Greensboro PD.
With regard to environmental issues, Crawford said he’s concerned about declining water quality in the city, and believes Greensboro’s recycling program should be expanded.
“I would like to see recycling become mandatory,” he said.
If elected, Crawford said he would push for the city to purchase biodiesel for its fleet of city buses. Crawford said he would also advocate for expanding the city’s support of Greensboro’s arts community. Crawford said the city's economic development strategy should include greater funding for the arts. He lauded city officials in Durham and Winston-Salem for their focus on investing in arts infrastructure and creating a vibrant arts community.
“They have their act together,” he said. “It would be nice if Greensboro would do something like that.”
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