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Mike Barber isn't running for re-election to City Council, leaving an open seat in District 4. Joel Landau is the better candidate to fill it.

That's true even though Mary Rakestraw currently is serving on the council in an at-large seat. Rakestraw, 61, is energetic and personable. She's spent years in public service, as a two-term county commissioner, chairwoman of the county's Board of Social Services, and in many other capacities. On the City Council, she's been a voice for conservative spending, pushing against possible increases in property taxes and water fees. Although tagged as one of the "commissioners three" by some council members, along with other former commissioners Barber and District 5 representative Trudy Wade, Rakestraw isn't unduly contentious. Asking questions or prolonging debate shouldn't be seen as troublemaking. Often, Rakestraw only raises concerns that many constituents share.

Nevertheless, Landau, 59, can bring a new dimension to the council. He's a small business manager who understands the challenges of meeting a payroll and keeping expenses under control. And, although he's never been elected to office, his work on the city's Planning Board and with the Community Sustainability Council and the Greensboro Neighborhood Congress gives him experience dealing with issues that really matter to citizens.

Landau has led efforts to protect neighborhoods from incompatible development. In April, for example, he made the motion on the Planning Board to deny a rezoning request that would have allowed a mixed-use project at Spring Garden Road and South Elam Avenue. Landau objected because the development would conflict with the Lindley Park Plan, intended to preserve the area's residential character. Residents would have a right to be cynical, Landau said, if the city granted exceptions to carefully drawn plans every time a developer presented a different request. Landau's motion prevailed by a 4-1 vote.

Pro-development views are well represented on the City Council, which is fine. Landau would add some important balance from a neighborhood perspective.

He's also been an early advocate for sustainability, a cause that will grow more important. On dealing with solid waste, for example, he proposes a radical thought: Let's reduce our garbage by 50 percent. Unrealistic? Who knows? It's got to be worth a try. At any rate, the council needs someone to prod it into that sort of thinking.

Landau, who's polite and soft-spoken, may have to challenge himself to be more assertive in pushing his point of view, but he's been quietly effective in other endeavors. Considering some of the rocky times of the past few years, quiet effectiveness is something the City Council surely needs.