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Meet the candidate: Trudy Wade, District 5

Since being elected to City Council in 2007, Wade said she has focused on meeting the every day needs of the residents in her districts.

The one-term council member and former Guilford Council commissioner said she spends several hours every day making phone calls.

It’s the everyday things that are important — like getting streetlights turned on and speed limits changed, she said.

Wade said the key to getting issues resolved is having the at-large council members and the mayor involved with the issues, so that they will back her up and help her come to a quick resolution.

That’s been something she has learned in her first term — coalition building.

Wade has gotten her fellow council members on board with a plan to host a business summit to help open the lines of communication with small businesses in the city.

That will give the city and its economic development agencies a
“feel for what companies we have here and what will compliment those,” she said.

Wade was one of three council members who consistently pushed to have former City Manager Mitchell Johnson removed. Now that the council has hired Rashad Young to replace him, she would like to see the new city manager focus on resolving issues in the police department.

In her first term, Wade was also an advocate for flat taxes and water fees. She said she would like to continue that policy if re-elected.

In the next two years, Wade would also like to city create a long-term plan for dealing with waste water and water needs.

Wade said she will also advocate that the city do an efficiency study to see how departments can work better.
 

Accompanying Photos

Photo Caption: Councilwoman Trudy Wade