(Editor's note: Today, the Journal begins endorsements in the contested Winston-Salem City Council races. They will continue through Sunday.)
Vivian H. Burke, the Democratic mayor pro tem and longest-serving council member in Winston-Salem history, faces a political newcomer in the Nov. 3 election, Republican Claudia L. Shivers. We believe that Burke has earned another term as the council member for the Northeast Ward.
Shivers, a 35-year-old partner in a small accounting firm who grew up in Lexington, is active in community affairs. She questions the council's approval of millions of dollars in financial backing for the stalled downtown ballpark, where construction only recently resumed, and the Dell computer plant in Winston-Salem, which will close in January.
The ballpark needs to be finished, but it wasn't a good idea to put public dollars into it in tight economic times, she said this week. "The whole Dell thing is an example of why we need fresh eyes looking at old issues."
Incentives are sometimes needed, including for small- and mid-sized businesses, she said. But officials should also concentrate on reducing crime, improving education and helping more people to own their homes. That, she said, would attract businesses by improving the quality of life.
Along with the other Republicans running for council seats, Shivers has signed a contract to support term limits for council members and prohibit additional taxpayer money for the ballpark.
Burke, a 75-year-old retired educator who first won election in 1977, is an established leader, both as the mayor pro tem and as the chairwoman of the council's public-safety committee. Dell should have taught a lesson, she said. "Maybe we need to be more thorough in how we discuss incentives with these companies." Small companies that have a sound business plan should get incentives, she said.
She believes that the city will recoup the money it gave Dell, noting that the company has also added to the tax base. She conceded that the council and City Manager Lee Garrity did not scrutinize the ballpark project as well as they should have in the early stages, but she believes that it will be a success.
Burke is proud of what she's accomplished on the council, including commercial and residential revitalization and economic development in her ward. She helped form the Liberty Development Corporation, which has made strong progress in revitalizing the Liberty Street corridor. In 2002, in recognition of her promotion of minority businesses, Winston-Salem State University established a scholarship in her honor.
If she wins another term, she wants to focus on job creation, and improving blighted housing areas and public safety in her ward.
Burke has been an outspoken, effective voice for causes ranging from police reform to underprivileged children. She's an important advocate for social justice and diversity in the city's work force. The Journal endorses Vivian H. Burke in the Northeast Ward race.
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