When Greensboro mayoral candidate Marikay Aubuzuaiter is asked about her priorities should the voters choose her, she isn’t slow to answer.

“Public safety has always been number one on my platform and I’ve never wavered,” she said. “I’ve always supported our Police Department, our Fire Department and Guilford Metro 911.”

However, she said the City of Greensboro has plenty of pots on the stove that need tending to.

“My next priorities are infrastructure, transportation and housing,” she said. “For example, we’ve been working for decades on the Greensboro Urban Loop, and as chair of the transportation division of the MPO [Greensboro Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization], I pushed hard for federal and state grants so we could finally finish that last leg. That’s opening up huge opportunities for economic development. We also approved the second runway and bridge taxiway at PTI, which opened up acres for development. Infrastructure also includes water, and we need to make sure we have enough capacity.”

Abuzuaiter never talks long without bringing up the necessity of teamwork and cooperation. The day after she won one of two slots in the primary and won the right to face off against former Greensboro Mayor Robbie Perkins, a commercial real estate broker, she was talking about teamwork in an interview with News 2 – and, in the final stretch of the election, she was talking about it with the Rhino Times.

“I’m very much a regional person,” she said. “I’ve been chair of the Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation, vice chair of the Piedmont Triad Regional Council and involved in regional collaboration for years. People live in one city and work in another – we can’t lock Greensboro’s doors at night. Collaboration is essential, and I’ve built strong relationships across this nine-county region.”

She said those strong ties she’s formed over the years in city leadership will be very helpful in the future if she’s elected mayor.

Abuzuaiter has been very active in the community over the years with causes such as Mothers Standing Against Gun Violence Initiative and Crimestoppers, and she’s been a big advocate for the Greensboro Police Department. She has attempted to help families who’ve been affected by homicides by distributing Crimestoppers leaflets hoping to drum up tips about their loved one’s murder.

“After these walks, Crimestoppers quite often receives tips concerning unsolved homicides and also about criminal activities in the area,” she stated.

In recent years, Greensboro has faced serious safety challenges – everything from children dying in house fires to pedestrians being struck and killed on train tracks.

One concern, particularly before 2017, was the number of pedestrian deaths along railroad tracks in East Greensboro. After completing the Citizens Police Academy, Abuzuaiter worked with the Police Department to establish an education campaign in that area. The initiative focuses on warning people about the dangers of trespassing on train tracks – no tickets are issued.

Since that outreach began, officials report there have been no further pedestrian deaths along the three-mile stretch that had previously been considered among the most dangerous in the state.

Abuzuaiter has been active in a wide range of civic and regional organizations during her years on the Greensboro City Council. She serves on the Executive Committee of the Family Justice Center, chairs the Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation and the Municipal Planning Organization’s Transportation Advisory Committee, and she’s vice chair of the Piedmont Triad Regional Council. She’s also on the boards of Casa Azul, Confident Girls Rising, Greensboro/Guilford Crimestoppers, the Greensboro Sports Foundation, the Greensboro ArtsHub and the Kiwanis Club of Greensboro.

As a council liaison, Abuzuaiter has worked with the Commission on the Status of Women, the Human Rights Commission, the Community Sustainability Council and the International Advisory Committee.

In 2017, the Greensboro News & Record named her the city’s “Most Influential Person.”

Abuzuaiter’s background includes 22 years as the owner of Mahi’s Restaurant.

Her work has been recognized with honors including the Friend of the Firefighter Award, the Dawn Chaney Foundation’s “Woman of the Year,” the Grady Hunter Regional Excellence Award from the Piedmont Triad Regional Council and the Greensboro Regional Realtors Association Public Servant Award.

Perkins has been pointing to his business background and arguing that he would be better at making big deals and bringing companies to the area, but Abuzuaiter said her history on the City Council and other leadership roles in recent years would be a big advantage.

“I’ve already been in the meetings, on the ground, talking with companies,” she told the Rhino Times. “I don’t need to brag about it. It’s all about relationships – knowing who to call, and being able to collaborate with chambers of commerce, economic development offices and elected officials across the region. Sure, someone can walk into a boardroom and make a deal – but that’s not how it works anymore. Today it’s about collaboration. Incentives, federal regulations, state support – all those pieces have to be aligned. I’ve been doing that work, and the relationships I’ve built put us in a strong position.”

Both Perkins and Abuzuaiter say economic growth will continue despite the fact that it’s causing some problems and is changing the nature of Greensboro and Guilford County.

“Growth is here to stay,” she said. “North Carolina is ranked the number one state for business, and jobs are coming. The question is whether we grow strategically. If growth comes too fast, we won’t have enough police officers or fire stations, and we could lose our ISO 1 fire rating – which would mean higher homeowners’ insurance. We also need to make sure our water and sewer capacity can handle it. Fortunately, this council has looked ahead. After the drought in the 1990s, we made sure to secure more sources of water, including Randleman Dam and we made agreements with other municipalities, so we’re in better shape.”

When it comes to addressing the homeless problem in Greensboro, she goes back to teamwork as being a critical piece of the puzzle.

 “The answer is true collaboration,” she said. “The Family Justice Center is the best example – it’s a joint project between the city and county, and it works. We need that same kind of cooperation on homelessness. I was encouraged recently when I heard the county is advertising for a homeless services director. That’s exactly the kind of step we need, because the county has access to social services funding that the city doesn’t. Greensboro has programs like the B-HEART team, but the only way we’ll make real progress is through city-county partnerships.”

Abuzuaiter said she is committed to controlling property taxes, which are a major concern for residents right now due to the coming 2026 revaluation which will mean higher housing values and higher taxes unless the City Council reduces the tax rate.

“I want to be the mayor who can finally say we are going revenue neutral,” she said.  “Now, we do have to wait for the numbers from the revaluation, but that’s my goal. We’ve already directed the city manager to hold the line on taxes, and he found ways to make it work even while we raised police salaries. I commend him for that. I know it’s a lofty goal, but I want to be able to say to residents: We kept your tax bills revenue neutral.”

Abuzuaiter said Greensboro is changing fast, and that calls for a mayor who can deliver and use connections to advance the city.  She said she is that person.

“We need leadership with vision, experience, and the relationships to guide that growth strategically,” she said.  “I’ve spent more than a decade building those relationships and delivering results. I believe I’m the one to lead our city forward.”

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