Vivian H. Burke, the mayor pro tem and the longest-serving council member in city history, has done much for Winston-Salem. One Republican, Claudia Shivers, is unopposed in the Republican primary for Burke's Northeast Ward seat. One Democrat, Sam Davis, is running against Burke in the Democratic primary. We believe Burke is the most qualified candidate in the Democratic primary for the Northeast Ward. The primaries are Sept. 15.
Davis, 51, has worked as a developer and as a teacher in the city/county school system. A former sportswriter for the Journal and a graduate of Winston-Salem State University, he's an assistant football coach at Carver High School and the publisher of Triad Sports Weekly. He contends that Burke, who first won election in 1977, has not done enough to provide opportunities for young people in the Northeast Ward.
He wants to focus on improving the economy, and he wants to see more job-training programs for minorities.
The city council's approval of incentives for the Dell computer plant was a good deal overall, he said, but nobody realized that the economy would sour, leading to the recent layoffs at the plant. Reasonable incentives are necessary, he said. As for the $27.7 million in public financial support for the downtown baseball stadium, the council "might have put a little too much trust in (developer) Billy Prim" but the park will be good for the city in the long run, he said.
Burke soundly defeated Davis in the 2005 Democratic primary.
Burke, 75, is a retired educator who grew up in Charlotte and holds a master's degree from N.C. A&T State University. She said she stays in close contact with people of all ages in her ward. She's proud of what she's accomplished on the council, including commercial and residential revitalization and economic development in her ward.
If re-elected, she said she will focus on job creation and improving blighted housing areas and public safety in her ward.
She has pressed Dell to communicate more with the public about its employment figures. The plant was hit by the recession, she said, but it still provides about 1,140 jobs, and she hopes it will provide more in the future. Any incentives package should be carefully studied, she said.
Burke concedes that the council and City Manager Lee Garrity did not scrutinize the stadium project well as they should have in the early stages, but she believes it will be a success.
Burke works hard for her ward and the city, and is an important voice for social justice and diversity in the city's work force. She is a leader, both as the mayor pro tem and as the chairwoman of the council's public-safety committee. She said after winning the Democratic primary in 2005 that she would not seek another term, but says she changed her mind because her constituents asked her to run.
The winner of the Democratic primary will face Shivers, 34, in the general election. Shivers, a partner in a small accounting company who grew up in Lexington, is a political newcomer. She is active in the community and places economic development at the top of her list of interests.
We look forward to spirited debates between Shivers and Burke. The Journal endorses Vivian H. Burke in the Democratic primary race for the Northeast Ward.
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