Election Letters to the Editor
Support for Mundy for Southwest Ward
To the Editor:
The City of Winston is fortunate to have Kevin Mundy as a candidate for City Council representing the Southwest Ward. I worked closely with Kevin when I was the General Chairman of The Crosby National Celebrity Charity Golf Tournament during my tenure as a Chief Executive at Sara Lee/Hanes. In his demanding role as Tournament Director, he showed great leadership skills in his ability to manage through influence and process the myriad details of this massive annual event. He was able to pivot from handling the demands of celebrity guests and senior corporate executives to dealing with the concerns of the volunteers in the parking lot and everything in between. In addition to his role with The Crosby, Kevin was the manager of community relations for a number of years at Sara Lee/Hanes, working closely with other business, government and non-profit leaders to sustain and improve the quality of life in Winston-Salem. Kevin knows our community inside and out. He has a passion for Winston-Salem and the people who live here, and I know he will make an excellent representative on City Council.
John A. Piazza
Winston-Salem
March 3 South Ward primary
To The Editor:
In the March 3 primary, Democrats in the city’s South Ward will choose between the incumbent, John Larson, and either of two challengers. As a practical matter, this will probably determine who represents us on City Council for the next term.
We all want local government to “just work.” Pick up the trash. Fix those potholes. Put out the fires, catch the criminals, perk up the parks. Save us from our neighbors’ worst impulses and overlook our own. But don’t spend too much! It’s a tough gig. And I’ve seen it done badly in other towns.
Life in Winston-Salem, while not perfect in every respect, is pretty darned good, at least insofar as city government has power to influence it. Whenever I’ve had a problem with city government, John Larson has always returned my calls and helped with solutions. We may not agree on every policy choice, but in his votes he has been temperate and sensible. In all our interactions, he has been decent, kind, and respectful. I have no doubts about his abilities or intentions, which both are now sharpened by years of on-the-job experience. Having John Larson as my city councilman is one of the many reasons I’m so proud to live here.
If we want good government, we need to recognize excellence where we find it. Good public servants ought not be cast aside for light or transient reasons. They are too rare and valuable.
In short: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!
John Steinberger
Winston-Salem
Survey on City Council restructuring
To The Editor:
The primary elections are coming up soon and attention is rightly focused on them. But we are writing to ask voters in Winston-Salem to spend a couple of minutes on an issue that could significantly affect every single one of them. A study commission of 11 city residents, jointly appointed by Rep. Donnie Lambeth, Rep. Debra Conrad and Mayor Allen Joines, is looking at options for restructuring the Winston-Salem City Council. For example, instead of electing all 8 council members by ward, we could elect some by ward and some at large.
The commission has posted a very short online survey to get voter feedback. As of Jan. 31, only 136 people, out of more than 163,000 registered voters in Winston-Salem, had taken the survey. We need to hear from more voters!
The survey is posted at CityofWS.org/LGSCsurvey. For those so inclined, the survey form includes a link to an 8-minute video that gives a fuller picture of the issues. Also online is more information about the commission and why it was formed.
The issues that the city council deals with – streets, public safety, zoning changes, sanitation, etc. – directly affect every single city resident. How we elect our city council will have bearing on all of these issues. That’s why we need your input. Please, take the survey today!
Steve Berlin
Dr. David Branch
Co-chairs
Winston-Salem Local Governance Study Commission
