Election Tuesday: Danville Council & School Board candidates answer questions

Dear candidate,

The following survey has been e-mailed to every candidate on the May 6 ballot. It is our intention
to post your full, written responses to these questions on our Web site as soon as we receive them.
If you change your response after you send this, we will gladly update our Web site to reflect your changes.
If you have any questions about this, feel free to call me at 791-7990 or e-mail your responses to .
Cordially,
Robert Benson
Opinion Page Editor
Danville Register & Bee

Background: Please detail your age, marital status, children, education, occupation and the length of time you’ve lived in Danville

1. Why are you running for a seat on Danville City Council?
2. What would you like to accomplish during your first year on Danville City Council?
3. What would you do about the cost of utilities in Danville?
Do you support utility rate relief for the elderly poor and disabled?
Do you favor more across-the-board rate cuts for utility customers?
4. Do you support the general direction of the Danville Public Schools? Is the school system a community asset or a liability? Are there areas that need to be improved?
5. Do you support the city’s cooperative economic development
efforts with Pittsylvania County? Would you like to see more joint city-county projects in the future?
6. How would you grade Danville City Manager Jerry Gwaltney on his job performance?
7. How would you address the issue of population loss in Danville Is this now the time to try to recruit former city residents "back home"? How would you do this?
8. Do you support Danville’s retail hub strategy? Do you think it will work?
9. How should the city help prepare local residents for the jobs that are coming to the community? What role should City Council have in the development of an effective work force development system?
10. How important is tourism to Danville? Are Danville’s historic sites attractive to outside visitors? Should the city spend more or less on tourism?
11. How would you attract people to the city/retain those that are already here and make it a place that is attractive to people of all ages?
12. What is your proposal for revitalizing downtown?
13. How should City Council attack the problems of crime in general, and gangs in particular?

Background: Please detail your age, marital status, children, education, occupation and the length of time you’ve lived in Danville

1. Why are you running for a seat on the Danville School Board?
2. Are Danville’s schools getting enough money from Danville City Council?
3. What are your views on the SOLs and the No Child Left Behind Act? Have they helped or harmed public education in Danville?
4. Is the school system adequately preparing its students for the work force?
5. Are their programs within Danville Public Schools that deserve more funding? What are they and why are they important?
6. How would you grade Superintendent Sue Davis on her job performance?

7. How serious is the gang problem in particular, and the crime problem in general, in Danville Public Schools?
8. How would you cope with declining enrollment and the state and federal budget cuts that would come with that?