District 3 City Councilmember Justin Outling said his first day on the campaign trail was “extraordinarily positive.”
Shortly after midnight on Thursday, Dec. 17, Outling made the announcement that he was running for mayor of Greensboro in 2021. The announcement made by video was no surprise. The rumors that Outling was planning to run for mayor had been swirling about for months, but the timing was something of a surprise.
In municipal elections, the primary is held the first Tuesday in October, which is 10 months away, and the General Election the first Tuesday in November. So it’s a far cry from the 2020 elections when the primary was held March 3. Outling has a long way to go before any votes are cast in the municipal election.
Outling said, “We’re going to work to gain the support of everyone in Greensboro and to share our vision for a better Greensboro with everyone, and that takes time.”
Outling in his campaign announcement talked about the large gap between Greensboro’s potential and its reality.
When asked how he planned to close that gap Outling said, “Greensboro needs to have a clear and coherent vision for bringing people together, tackling jobs and better paying jobs and on crime a focus on substance rather than symbolism.”
He said, “Under the current mayoral leadership, there was a vote to turn down a grant of hundreds of thousands of dollars that the police needed.”
Outling said, “We’re in year two of an unprecedented homicide rate.”
He said that the difference in his administration would be, “Not turning down JAG grants for purely political reasons and not giving a bowling alley $80,000 so he can have nicer trees.”
Outling said that in talking to business leaders in Greensboro, whether they represent large or small businesses, he was told that they don’t hear from the city unless the city wants something.
Outling said as mayor he would have regular meetings with business leaders to find out how the city could help them stay in Greensboro and grow in Greensboro.
