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Editors note: This story has been updated to correct an error regarding Ben Holder.

GREENSBORO — A Greensboro City Council member will take on a full slate of challengers in the District 1 primary Oct. 6.

Two City Council candidates from the southeast district will advance from the primary to the general election Nov. 3.

T. Dianne Bellamy-Small

Age: 57 

Residence: 3211 Delmonte Drive

Occupation: Parent educator, Exceptional Children’s Assistance Center

Councilwoman T. Dianne Bellamy-Small plans to focus on economic parity if she is re-elected to another term in District 1.

“People need to have the same live, work and play situation in east Greensboro that they have in west Greensboro,” she said.

She supports the development of a marketing study to promote east Greensboro and will back infrastructure upgrades that will make the area ready for new development.

After surviving a recall election and being chosen for a third term in 2007, Bellamy-Small pushed council members to add a bus route and set aside money for a daytime resource center for homeless residents.

Bellamy-Small also persuaded the council to add a new fingerprint examiner to the police department this year, when city jobs were cut.

“Fighting for that print examiner was a good thing because they have over 100 cases that could not be verified because of that one position,” Bellamy-Small said.

Charles Coffey

Age: 54 

Residence: 1903 Freeman Mill Road

Occupation: Machinist, Industries of the Blind

The soft-spoken Charles Coffey  said the No. 1 issue in District 1 is crime.

“Even in Glenwood — as much as we have been trying to put a lid on it — we are seeing a lot of breaking and entering,” said Coffey, who will make his third attempt at a council seat.

Coffey, who has lived at the edge of Glenwood for more than 30 years, has worked with city officials to help bolster economic development and fight crime through the Lee Street Merchants Association and the Central Corridor Gateway Committee, a city board overseeing the revitalization of the area.

Coffey wants to encourage economic development by making former industrial sites ready for new development and improving infrastructure.

“There are some infrastructure issues that make some sites not practical right now,” he said.

Coffey has mixed feelings about offering incentives to businesses. He would like to limit licensing fees and taxes to help small business.

Coffey said the city needs to rein in annexation now to ensure that all new residents get equal access to services.

Luther Falls Jr.

Age: 54

Residence: 1603 Lansdown Ave.

Occupation: Life and health agent, Western and Southern Life Insurance Co.

For Luther Falls Jr., District 1 is home.

“I know the issues there,” Falls said. “I know the people there. They trust me to do the job if I get elected.”

Falls said economic development and job creation are the key issues. He said he would use business contacts developed through an African American business alliance — the Watchful Network — to help District 1.

“I can stress the advantages of doing business in District 1,” he said.

If elected, Falls said, he will further develop his relationships with council members.

“I will be kind of a bridge-builder with some of the people who don’t interact with each other,” Falls said.

Falls said he would focus on serving constituents and making sure District 1 residents get the same services as the rest of the city.

“They need to be satisfied that we are working for them,” Falls said.

Ben Holder

Age: 38

Residence: 1306 Oak St.

Occupation: Property supervisor

Ben Holder has never been shy about asking the city to fix problems, whether by taking the issues directly to the council or by chronicling them on his blog, http://thetroublemaker.blogspot.com.

Now, Holder wants to be on the City Council hot seat.

Holder, a Greensboro native, has spotlighted convenience stores that sell crack pipes. He also has pointed out criminal activity near the downtown greenway and pushed for a human trafficking awareness.

Holder said the city needs to clean up District 1’s dilapidated houses. “Find the neighborhood with the highest crime. It’s the neighborhood with the most dilapidation.”

Holder said the city has to be more transparent in the way it operates, starting with the new city manager, Rashad Young, who starts work in October.

“He should be the one who is beating the drum for openness and fairness — and mean it,” Holder said.

Holder, who has been a critic of the police department and former city manager, said the city is overdue in dealing directly with its problems.

Holder, who supports legalization of marijuana, faced marijuana and drug paraphernalia charges in North Carolina in the 1990s, but the charges were dismissed. He was found guilty of driving while impaired and fined $100 in 1999 .

Daron Sellars

Age: 35 

Residence: 815 Daleview Place

Occupation: Partner of Modus Restaurant Group and Modus Multimedia

District 1 needs more effective leadership, said Daron Sellars.

He wants to be that leader.

Sellars said his experience as a member of the board of the United Way will help him if he is elected to the City Council’s District 1 seat.

“It taught me about budgets. It taught me about setting goals. It taught me about being in a community,” said Sellars, who has served on the city planning board.

Sellars — who holds franchise agreements for the fast food restaurant Wingstop, among a variety of business pursuits — said the top problems in District 1 are job creation and economic development.

“I could have taken my business anywhere. I took it here. Some people talk about economic development. Some people do it,” Sellars said.

Jeramy Reid

Age: 33

Residence: 5201 Lager Court, McLeansville

Occupation: Kitchen manager, Heritage Greens Retirement Community.

Jeramy Reid this year saw the newspaper announcement that it was time to file for the City Council election. This, he decided, was his time to serve the community.

Reid said he has no political ambitions. But the fourth-generation Greensboro resident said he wanted to help set a new direction for the city.

Reid said a major issue in his district is the lack of development.

He would like to see incentives for small businesses and for the city buy land to help complete the Urban Loop.

As a father of three children in a single-income household, Reid said he understands how to control a budget. The city, he said, needs to watch its spending. “We are a little fast and loose on the spending.”

Reid said the city should not be trucking household trash to a landfill in another county.

Reid said he would like to see the police department given more resources. A report sanctioned by the City Council in 2008 recommended the department hire more staff, although Reid said he had not yet studied the report.

Reid was cited for marijuana possession in 1996, but the charge was dismissed.

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