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The late Claudette Burroughs-White, who served five City Council terms from 1994 to 2005, once fretted how hard it was to find someone willing and prepared to succeed her in District 2.

She had a point. The district at times has struggled to attract strong candidates.

Not this year.

Voters are blessed with two rock-solid choices in Nettie Coad and Jim Kee. Both are well-equipped to fill the seat held by incumbent Goldie Wells, who is not seeking re-election.

Both have strong records of community involvement and both are passionate about their district, which contains most of northeast Greensboro and stretches south into parts of downtown.

Kee edges Coad, however, on the strength of his business and civic credentials, and his ideas for bringing more economic development to an area that is largely underserved and ripe for growth.

Kee, 51, is a founding member and a former co-chairman of Concerned Citizens for Northeast Greensboro, which has worked to bring positive development to that community. Among the fruits of those labors is the renovation of a struggling shopping center on Phillips Avenue. Concerned Citizens has worked for years to breathe new life into the center, which lost its original anchor tenant, a Winn-Dixie supermarket, in 1998.

The group's persistence finally was rewarded. The city bought the property last year as a redevelopment project.

Kee also touts his own sizable investment in northeast Greensboro. A developer by trade, he has built a new 10-home subdivision near the Kings Forest neighborhood called Nottingham Estates.

He says he has put his money where his campaign rhetoric is, having invested $2 million in his community.

Kee cites the potential for leveraging existing incentives and programs to spur economic growth in his district. He also pledges to create standing committees to address economic development, public safety and environmental safety.

When asked about priorities, he rattles off sites that he considers prime spots for meaningful development and that could use city help in preparing infrastructure.

He is smart, resourceful and well-spoken.

For her part, Coad, 73, has been active in a variety of causes, including the revitalization of the Ole Asheboro neighborhood, where she lives, and the city's Redevelopment Commission. She also cites her own involvement in Concerned Citizens of Northeast Greensboro and is one of the most visible neighborhood leaders in the city.

But Kee's impressive blend of business savvy and grass-roots involvement make him the better of two good choices in District 2.