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GREENSBORO — Four candidates will try their luck at winning the District 2  City Council seat that Goldie Wells will vacate.

Two candidates in northeast Greensboro will win enough votes in the primary Tuesday  to advance to the general election on Nov. 3.

Nettie Coad

Age: 73 

Residence: 706 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive

Occupation: Executive director of the Partnership Project

Longtime community advocate Nettie Coad  said the City Council lacks a cohesive vision.

“Who’s thinking about what we look like as we attempt to encourage industry and business?” Coad asked.

Coad has worked on city redevelopment projects, including the Ole Asheboro neighborhood where she lives. She serves on the Greensboro Redevelopment Commission. Coad is concerned about the amount of time it has taken to redevelop areas and how funds are allocated.

“For 30-plus years I have lived in this community,” she said. “It has history. It has charm and beauty. We have struggled to maintain the quality of it.”

If elected, Coad said, she will be able to listen to people’s problems and collaborate with council members to resolve them.

“We’ve got to appreciate what differences people bring,” she said.

Coad said the city should not reopen the White Street Landfill to household waste. She said it’s an issue of quality of life for the people who live around it.

Dan Fischer 

Age: 47 

Residence: 2 Chapel Bend Court

Occupation: Tutor at the Avalon and Glenhaven development centers; Americorps Access member.

Dan Fischer  started his adult life as a Navy hospital corpsman, advocating for patients under his care.

And as the former senior vice president for the Student Government Association, Fischer worked with Erskine Bowles on issues facing the UNC system.

“I am not a politician,” Fischer said. But he does have a passion for helping people.

Fischer would like to see Greensboro become a leader in attracting green jobs and taking on environmental initiatives, like instituting a city redemption policy for recycling cans and bottles.

“We should be putting solar panels on all our roofs,” he said.

He also would like to see Greensboro participate in the City Year program, which puts young people to work on local service projects, to keep more students in Greensboro.

Gordon Hester

Age: 56 

Residence: 1537 Rock Spring St.

Occupation: Coordinator and counselor for children

From his work with a federal child-support program to his military career, much of Gordon Hester’s life has been about public service.

“Everything I have always done has been about people support,” he said.

Hester grew up in Virginia and lived around the world because of his career in the Army before settling in the Triad. He moved to Greensboro in 2007.

Hester said his master’s degree in public administration and his military service set him apart from the other candidates.

Hester serves as a chaplain in the Army Reserve.

The city needs to improve its communication with residents, including about problems facing the police department,  Hester said.

If elected, Hester said, he promises to research solutions and find experts who can help address the city’s problems, such as what it should do with its trash.

“I want people to know they have a listening ear,” Hester said.

Jim Kee

Age: 51

Residence: 4301 Lord Jeff Drive

Occupation: Land developer, president and owner of Kee Development Corp.; owner, J&E Properties, property management company.

The development at the end of Lord Jeff Drive  is Jim Kee’s personal investment in District 2 — a cluster of new homes in an established neighborhood. It’s where he works and lives.

“I’ve been in the community working with the residents, working with the city for the last 12 years,” said Kee, a former co-chairman of the Concerned Citizens of Northeast Greensboro and a developer. “I have a personal investment of more than $2 million in the district.”

Kee said the city needs to encourage the growth of small businesses through its low-cost loan program.

“We have to set aside more money for that kind of thing,” Kee said.

Economic issues also go hand-in-hand with crime prevention, Kee said.

“We have to make sure our city is safe. People do not want to move to a high-crime area,” Kee said.

If elected, Kee said he would create citizen committees to help him address issues and development.

“I’ll take these ideas to City Council and voice them for the benefit of citizens everywhere,” Kee said.

Contact Amanda Lehmert at 373-7075 or amanda.lehmert@news-record.com