Mayor Yvonne JohnsonNew Year’s Address
Hello, I’m Yvonne Johnson, mayor of Greensboro. I’ve talked with many of you recentlyduring my travels across the city about your concern with the current state of theeconomy. Your worries are very real and impact so many critically important parts of your lives: Among many important items I have heard concerns about how yourretirement income is fairing; concerns about whether your sons and daughters will beable to find employment; and concerns about the safety of your communities with thegrowing sense that people are becoming more desperate.In November our country learned that we lost 533,000 jobs in that month alone, thesingle worst month of job loss in over three decades. Coupling the job losses with thecurrent instability of the stock market does not offer much promise of better economictimes in the near future. As a consequence, virtually all federal, state and localgovernments are searching for the best answers to help our residents and ourcommunities through these challenging circumstances.Like is true for every city in the United States, this is a very challenging time forGreensboro. How we perform as a city government during the time of hardship will bethe real measure of our character and of our ability to provide the best possible future forour city.While I don’t have a crystal ball to predict the outcome – I know one thing for sure, itwill take a collective effort of this community – it will take all of us working together tofortify us. We will get through this rough patch. And we will get through it together. Nowis not the time for timidity. Now is not the time for retreat. Now is the time for optimism.Now is the time for vision.My vision for our city has four key elements: 1.) to ensure we continue to attract well-paying jobs, 2.) that we are seen as a city where business is welcome and can thrive, 3.)that our residents feel safe and 4.) that our residents are not weighed down by tax burdensfrom their city.First, through investment in our community we have established the foundation to benefitgreatly from increased job creation. In 2008, Greensboro City Council awarded $1.3million in incentives to encourage $126 million in capital investments by companieswhich will bring 155 jobs. We must work hard to attract new industry by pursuing itaggressively and offering incentives. There is fierce competition for new industry and wemust be fierce competitors to win new industry and the jobs that come with it. We mustsupport our economic developers. They are our marketers and our sales force. They areon the front lines of job creation for our city.Second, with the same enthusiasm in which we pursue new industry, we must honorsmall businesses as the key driver of our local economy and where possible, shop locallyand buy locally. The city must be business friendly. When local business owners like
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