Mayoral Candidate Gardenia Henley Says She Will Cut Spending & Improve Suburban Areas in the City

September 10 is the primary for partisan municipal elections in North Carolina. In Winston-Salem, the mayor's seat is up for grabs. Gardenia Henley is challenging incumbent Allen Joines to lead the city. Both candidates are Democrats. Since there isn't a Republican candidate on the ballot, the winner will be unopposed in the general election in November.

Henley was born and raised in North East Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She is a retired general inspector with the U.S. State Department. She's active in several local organizations and last year ran for the office of state governor. She recently sat down with WFDD's Keri Brown to explain why she is running for mayor.

Henley says she is running a grass roots campaign. She has authored several essays known as the Henley Reports, which she says highlight issues in the community and in city government. Henley says if she is elected, some of her main goals will be to cut unnecessary spending, grow the local economy and improve suburban areas throughout Winston-Salem.

The primary for non-partisan municipal elections in the state is October 8.