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2009 Candidate Survey Responses & Voter Guide Candidate for Mayor: Robert W. Edwards 1. What are your top three policy priorities for your term, if elected? I would be hard pressed to rank my beliefs
for policy changes by priority; I still have a great deal to learn and I am
actively researching more topics than I care to count. As a very basic
guide, my top three issues include: 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? I grew up in a single parent home just my dad
and me. In 1999, my father’s job of 26.5 years at Associated Spring Co.
relocated to Mexico, leaving him jobless. In 2000, my father was diagnosed
with stage four colon cancer. Doctors gave him five months to live; I was in
8th grade. I know well what it’s like to struggle under the poverty line. My
father was too proud to take advantage of government programs, since he
believed others needed it more. It’s almost comical looking back, but that
same stubborn pride lives on in me. I still live below the poverty line,
working hard. I go to AB-Tech College and don’t take advantage of financial
aid, because I want to believe I can make it without the government. I don’t
know what the answer is to the children who live in poverty, but I do know
what the answer is not. I will work diligently in this area, taking
suggestions and researching what actually works, but throwing money and
programs at bad parents will never work. 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? Youth crime does not have an easy answer
either. This issue is negatively affected again and again by the two areas
where funding is always cut first: education and police departments. The
only real solution is to give the children quality programs that replace
gangs. Gangs provide youth with a true sense of belonging to a larger group
which provides security during a very hard and scary time in life. Sports
programs are great-- they provide many great benefits to a child, except
that after ball practice there is too much time to stray away and not a
strong enough sense of purpose. An example of one program that is proven to
work and can be provided at low or no cost to the city, schools, and parents
are good quality church youth groups. This is very politically incorrect; I
believe that “separation of church and state” is pretty clear. Given the
choice of a child one day joining a gang and ending up dead, or “saved” in a
church youth group should be an easy choice for any parent. 4. What is your assessment of the City’s public transportation system? Would you propose changes? I do have or pretend to know the answer to
our transportation problems. I do know however, simply throwing more and
more money at it won’t make it better. I believe our transportation system
does need some real attention to make it more effective. One example of my
own personal experience is I had a hard time finding bus routes and
schedules. I am sure internet access would have solved that, but one minor
idea I bring to the table is to aggressively advertise schedules from
upscale hotels to any and every restaurant that will take them. As for
answers the main problems I have a pile of research to do and I am open to
suggestions. 5. The Asheville-Buncombe Living Wage Campaign calculates that a single person needs to earn $11.35/hr to have economic self-sufficiency in Asheville. Should the City ensure that all City employees and contractors make a living wage? Why or why not? As someone who currently makes an hourly wage
of 8.75$/hr I feel the strain of being “financially challenged”. I do not
feel prepared to take a strong stance on this issue yet, but my gut feeling
says no. I am open to others suggestions and input please contact me about
any of these questions or answers at: 6. What further role, if any, should council play in the I-26 Connector debate? Again I apologize for my unfamiliarity with
this issue, but I can say I would push for the “best bang for the buck.” I
will also add this to a growing list of things I need to research. Again any
input would be helpful Edwards@politician.com or feel free to create and
post on forums at edwardsformayor.ning.com 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? My vision is that the government only needs
to give struggling families a brief hand-up. I have had the opportunity to
work around many single mothers waiting tables at Waffle House that live in
section 8 housing and receive several different programs for assistance. And
from my experience these programs trap the people by two ways; too much
assistance without accountability and without expiration, and too big of a
jump to full self sufficiency. I believe we need to do more than carry these
families we need to encourage them achieve their full potential as citizens.
Ben. Franklin said “We should make the poor uncomfortable, to kick them out
of poverty” and while this may seem cold the logic can’t be argued with. If
people are generally made more comfortable in poverty than out in the
regular working middle or lower classes then why leave? Quick thought as a
single guy working a full time crap job I make too much money for low income
housing, so to qualify I would need to take some days off work! Wait, What? |