|
2009 Candidate Survey Responses & Voter Guide Candidate for City Council: J. Neal Jackson 1. What are your top three policy priorities for your term, if elected? My top three policy priorities if elected
would be to prioritize budget expenses and work to try and eliminate the
current deficit, improve our transit system, and work to make our council
more accountable to it’s citizen. 2. An estimated 16-20% of Buncombe County’s children and youth live in poverty; a number expected to rise during this recession. What role, if any, does council play in addressing the impact of child poverty (e.g. hunger, health, nutrition, education) in the region? The role I feel council should take in
addressing child poverty is to figure out ways to get the parents working so
they can support their children as well as paying more attention to our
youth issues and working with both parents and children to address these
issues. 3. How effective has the City been in addressing youth crime, including gang-related activity? Are there other intervention and prevention strategies the City should invest in? The City has been effective in addressing
youth crime and gang related activities. They have spent money to create a
gang task force to supposedly help eliminate gang activity in Asheville. But
we all know crime is relatively low here in Asheville and currently this
year there has been no homicide’s related to gang violence. I feel that
these gang related activities that we here about in the press and media in
Asheville is to instill fear so that the police department can get funding
to combat these issues which usually targets low income individuals and
minorities. As far as intervention we need to find role models who can be an
example to our youth. We need to educate our youth in fields of technology
and industrial arts and teach our kids a trade. We as adults need to sit
down at the table and listen to what issues concern our youth with an open
mind. We as a community need to embrace our youth and encourage them on how
important they are. They are our future leaders. 4. What is your assessment of the City’s public transportation system? Would you propose changes? We have a great transit system currently in
place with leaders who constantly want transit to improve. We deal with a
transit system with old buses that need to be updated and routes that can be
improved. Changes I would like to see in our transit system are extended
hours and Sunday service. 5. The Asheville-Buncombe Living Wage Campaign calculates that a single person needs to earn $11.35/hr to have economic self-sufficiency in Asheville. Should the City ensure that all City employees and contractors make a living wage? Why or why not? A living wage would be desirable for all, but
facing this current budget deficit would it be feasible in the city’s budget
to accomplish this task. It would be nice to give a living wage to all
employees and contractors but we need to look at the facts and see if our
budget can handle that possibility. 6. What further role, if any, should council play in the I-26 Connector debate? The role I feel council should play in
dealing with the I-26 Connector is to hurry up and help decide which plan
should be used to get this I-26 project under way. This connector is vital
for our community to help deal with congestion issues and improve the
quality of traffic. Our City is growing and I feel this project should have
been started years ago. 7. Describe your vision for increasing affordable housing options in Asheville. How do the existing locations of the Housing Authority of the City of Asheville fit your vision? When I think of term affordable housing what
comes to my mind is affordable housing is what a person or family can
afford. When we live in a city where the median house range is around
$265,000 how many people who work and live in the city can afford this type
housing. But as a council how can we figure out a way to really create
housing that is affordable for our citizens that is not labeled as a housing
project. What I think about existing locations of the Housing Authority
properties are that each one of them are prime real estate locations. I
vision that we can get the residents to take pride in their communities and
have a sense of worth for their neighborhoods, and give the residents
opportunities to invest in their housing and learn how to become homeowners. |