Name: Warren Cooksey
Age: 41
Neighborhood: Ballantyne
Years living in south Charlotte: 4
Family: Single
Education: Davidson College, B.A. in history
Political experience:
• Second term, Charlotte City Council
• Former vice chairman, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Planning Commission
• Former chairman, Charlotte Convention and Visitors Bureau
• Member, Mecklenburg Republican Executive Committee
• Former Mecklenburg Republican Party vice chairman
• Former Mecklenburg Republican Party secretary
What do you see as the single greatest issue facing south Charlotte residents right now, and how would you as a council member handle that issue?
Unemployment and the economy dominate the concerns of almost everyone I talk with these days. Unfortunately, local government can have very little effect on the economy in the short term. Even worse, a panicked attempt to do more than city government is capable of doing can leave us worse off in the long run.
If city council constantly works to maintain a city with a good business climate, Charlotte should be able to weather the temporary storms and enjoy again the tremendous growth we saw for much of the past 20 years. As the recently-announced plans for Ballantyne’s growth remind us, south Charlotte continues to be a great engine for success, and no one in this city should take that for granted.
Ultimately, though, all issues facing south Charlotte relate to the importance of having a good quality of life here. My service on city council continues to focus on the core services city government provides to support good quality of life: police and fire protection for public safety, a comprehensive transportation system with an emphasis on addressing our backlog of road needs and a reasonable annual budget.
I’ve voted for additional city-funded police officers and firefighters, against the streetcar project and against budgets that don’t address the right priorities. If I’m re-elected, I’ll continue to emphasize city government’s core functions.
What is your position on the planned expansion of the Ballantyne Corporate Park and the Bissell Companies’ tax increment financing proposal?
If all goes as scheduled, I look forward to voting for the expansion Sept. 19 and for the financing proposal Sept. 26.
While the state has plans to adds lanes to Interstate 485 in the Ballantyne area, do you have suggestions for addressing continuing congestion on non-interstate thoroughfares?
If more members of city council would join me in focusing more on roads than transit expansion, we could better address congestion problems.
Too often I have had to interrupt discussions by others about the unnecessary idea of more funding for transit. I always note that transit has a dedicated funding source, whereas there are still about $6 billion in unfunded road needs. I hope voters focus on road issues when electing at-large council members and council members in other districts. I would welcome the help.
That said, I have been successful in adding congestion mitigation as one of the factors council evaluates in its Transportation Focus Area Plan. At this point, addressing the subject further depends on the council’s willingness to join me in voting to shift resources from lower priorities to the higher priority of roads.
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