From Patriotism to Politics

Jeannette Davidson-Mayer is a political newcomer seeking the Greensboro City Council’s District 5 seat. She moved to the city from New Plymouth, Idaho, where she lived for nearly two decades and served two terms on the city council.

Mayer came to Greensboro during the pandemic to find better care for her ex-husband, DeWayne, who suffered from five traumatic brain injuries while serving in the Army National Guard in Iraq from 2004-05. 

“I had come to a big challenge in the road,” Davidson-Mayer said. “My veteran had met and exceeded the care capabilities in Idaho.”

After doing some research, Davidson-Mayer found a brain trauma center in Kernersville for her ex-husband. She decided to move to Greensboro for better care and to be closer to her sister, who lives in Greensboro. After moving, she got a divorce from DeWayne, who she said became physically violent with her.

“You’ve got to separate the man from the brain injury,” she said. “The man would never lay a hand on me. It’s the brain injury. He’s unaware of his violent tendencies.”

Her ex-husband now lives with her sister and her sister’s husband. The three of them work together to care for him, she said.

While she’s been a big supporter of veterans through her ex-husband, Davidson-Mayer said her connection to the military started as a child. Her mother was in the Air Force and taught her to be appreciative of the military and first responders. 

From Advocacy to Local Government

In Idaho, Davidson-Mayer said, she learned of the importance of municipal elections and ran for city council in 2007. In 2012, she was re-elected and served a second term. According to her website, she served as council president from 2012-14. 

“I enjoyed hearing the concerns of everyone,” she said. “And seeing if there was any way possible as a city to find a happy medium, to find a way to work with them for a solution.”

When she moved to Greensboro, she began thinking about ways to get involved politically here, too. While the Greensboro City Council is nonpartisan, Davidson-Mayer is a registered Republican.

“Greensboro is in a pivotal election year,” she said. “It’s critical that we make some changes for the betterment of our city.”

One of the issues she’s concerned with is finding a solution for citywide leaf collection. Last year, the city changed its rules around leaf collection, halting its use of trucks that suck up foliage on the streets. Now residents are required to bag up their leaves, put them in trash cans, or leave them in their yards.

That’s not fair to those who are physically unable to rake up their leaves, Davidson-Mayer said. If residents are paying taxes, then the city should do more to help with leaf collection, she said.

“I am of the philosophy that every dollar of taxes that comes in, we should be getting back 60-70 percent of services,” she said. 

Davidson-Mayer, like other candidates this year, is also concerned about housing and homelessness.

“It would be more affordable to invest in our current residents and our current businesses versus raising property taxes,” Davidson-Mayer said. “If they continue to raise taxes, they’re going to have more homeless people.”

The county has not raised property taxes in several years. For the last eight years, Guilford County’s property tax rate has remained at 73.05 cents per $100 of assessed property value. Property values were reappraised by the county in 2022. There will be another reappraisal in 2026. On the city side, the current tax rate has remained at 67.25 cents per $100 of property valuation since an increase in 2023. 

When it comes to homelessness, Davidson-Mayer said, she supports District 5 incumbent City Council Member Tammi Thurm’s plan for a permanent supportive housing complex with wraparound services. 

“That’s valuable,” she said. “We need that.”

She also supports mixed-income housing, she said.

“When you are around other people of the same socioeconomic status, you tend to not want to do anything differently,” she said. “But when you are with someone who influences you to do better, you have that social upward mobility piece that gets going. That’s where mixed-income housing makes a difference.”

A Conservative Stance

When it comes to the issue of immigration, Davidson-Mayer’s views aligned with other conservative Republicans. 

“If you are not here legally, if you come across illegally, I do feel you should go back to your home,” she said. “Especially if you came when the borders were open.”

When asked what she thought about President Donald Trump sending federal troops and immigration agents into cities, Davidson-Mayer said she would want to sit with the president and his staff to listen to his concerns.

“If our city was in disarray and the president felt like we needed extra support, I would sit down and listen to him,” she said. She wouldn’t want federal troops to come in without talking to city council first, she said. 

When it comes to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids and the detention of legal residents and citizens, Davidson-Mayer said she’s “sorry that it’s happening,” but she doesn’t know the solution to it. Those who get wrapped up in the arrests have some responsibility, she said, if they aren’t carrying their citizenship paperwork or green cards with them.

“It says on the documentation that you’re supposed to carry it at all times,” she said. “It’s a requirement. If you don’t carry it, that’s your choice. Then you have to face the consequences. You’re not following the law.”

When she is vacationing, she said by way of example, she carries her passport everywhere.

Broadly speaking, she said, she finds immigrants getting resources when they first come to the United States “extremely offensive.”

“We’ve all worked hard for what we have,” she said. “And it’s really hard to see a lot of these immigrants get free housing, free phones, free food while we’re here all struggling.”

Documented immigrants use federal public benefit programs at lower rates than U.S.-born citizens, according to 2022 data by the Cato Institute. Most immigrants with legal status are not eligible for federal programs until they’ve resided in the U.S. for at least five years. Most undocumented immigrants are not eligible for federal programs at all.

If elected, Davidson-Mayer said, she would work on empowering law enforcement at the local level.

“I know that city council does not support them,” she said.

The budget for the Greensboro Police Department has steadily increased in the last few years. In 2023, the budget was $92 million and increased to $105 million in 2024, according to the department. This year’s budget allocated $119 million for law enforcement.

“Chief Thompson has publicly acknowledged on multiple occasions that the support of city leadership and Council has helped the department remain competitive with regard to officers’ starting salaries,” said Annette Ayers, public information manager with the department.

Those salaries saw a significant gain last year, Ayers said, and just this week, the department graduated another 25 officers from the police academy.

Police should be in schools earlier in life, Davidson-Mayer said.“I think it should start even younger, like kindergarten,” she said. “As a positive manner, so they understand that law enforcement is not their enemy.”

The Greensboro Police Officers Association has endorsed Davidson-Mayer’s opponent, Tammi Thurm, in this race. The organization’s endorsement came out right after it was announced who was running, Davidson-Mayers said.

“There wasn’t time to go speak to them so they could choose between us,” she said.

Davidson-Mayer said she’s the better candidate for District 5 because “complacency is where things go to die.”

“I bring in knowledge and a fresh perspective that I think our city needs to make a difference to move forward,” she said.  

Early voting runs until Nov. 1. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 4. Voters can look up their sample ballots using the NC voter registration database here. During the early voting period, voters can cast their ballot at any open voting site. On Election Day, voters must go to their assigned precinct. Voters must also show a valid photo ID to vote in this election.