Danny Clawson - Roanoke City Council Candidate

Campground Reopening: Are you committed to working with the National Park Service to reopen the Roanoke Mountain Campground for overnight access?

Absolutely! As an avid camper myself, I would certainly appreciate an accessible campsite nearby to enjoy with my family in the midst of our very busy schedules. Beyond that, people who travel to Roanoke to camp also buy groceries and often visit local attractions like the Mill Mountain Zoo - which all feeds into our tax base. Camping is an affordable family vacation that will become increasingly popular during these uncertain times. Campsites near urban centers like Roanoke also increases engagement in the outdoors for historically under-represented communities and can act as a bridge to outdoor recreation for beginners that may be intimidated by a big trip to a remote park.

Greenway Completion and Maintenance: Would you support completing and maintaining the Roanoke River Greenway from Green Hill Park to Explore Park?

I am fully committed to a respectful and beneficial working relationship with our neighboring localities. Our economy does not stop at the city line and coordination is essential to a thriving regional ecosystem. I will always support projects that bring average people closer to our blue-ways and creating more bikeable infrastructure will increase regional access to popular riverside businesses in Southeast and Southwest. Without more context on the issue with city maintenance, I can't comment on that specifically. However I will say that I fully support Roanoke Parks and Stormwater staff and am truly impressed by their annual Tinker Creek Cleanup Project. The city does an excellent job of leveraging volunteers for community projects and I look forward to supporting them and their efforts.

Budget Prioritization: Would you establish consistent annual funding for greenway expansion, maintenance, and improvements?

It is a challenge to balance recreation with vital services such as education and stormwater management during our current budget shortfalls. As someone who was on the ground in Western North Carolina within 48 hours of Hurricane Helene in 2024, I witnessed first hand the devastation of climate disaster in our mountains. Greenway development is an essential tool in protecting the public from climate disaster and facilitating environmental stewardship among our residents. It is also central to my plan to attract young professionals to our city. The city needs to generate more revenue by increasing the number of taxpayers in the city and millennial workers prioritize quality of life and access to the outdoors - especially as telework becomes increasingly common. As a mid-career professional that moved to the city in 2020, the Greenway was a key influence in my decision to move here. The upcoming ADA-accessible whitewater park was also influential in my family's decision to stay in Roanoke after my wife finished medical training. The greenway and outdoor spaces deserve consistent funding and quality upkeep in order to support healthy residents and integrated, resilient communities. Such policies promote economic stability and are part of the larger picture of a thriving community. If elected, I will work hard to restore funding to our city services and ensure consistent funding for all outdoor spaces.

Economic and Community Benefits: How would the economic, health, and quality-of-life benefits of outdoor infrastructure influence your investment decisions?

I have discussed many of the economic, community health, quality of life and business benefits of the greenway in my previous answers. And I'm excited about talent-attraction as well! Roanoke sits in the heart of one of the best whitewater regions in the world and it should be a hub for talent development. ADA-accessibility can nurture trailblazing athletes and support early athletic development for future stars. As a whitewater kayaker myself, I spent far too much money in places around Asheville, Nantahala Outdoor Center, and the Ocoee River while I was living in Atlanta and driving up to boat on the weekends. We need to bring that kind of money to Roanoke. As our reputation for hosting world-class bike events continue to grow, we need to capitalize on that momentum to foster new whitewater talent and manufacturing. Asheville is becoming increasingly expensive to operate in and many high-value brands are looking to re-locate. We have an opportunity to attract light manufacturing and sales of high-cost equipment - bringing much-needed jobs and tax revenue to our city. Additionally, outdoor recreation businesses like tubing, bike rentals, river guides and fishing create a diverse job market. It's a win-win and something I deeply believe in for our economic future.

Community Engagement: How would you ensure meaningful public input and transparency when expanding the greenway and reopening the campground?

I strongly feel that I cannot be an expert about everything. That is why I rely on community members , professionals , stakeholders and respected leaders to help me develop policy priorities. I regularly attend BRRAG meetings, I seek out input from pedal safe , and have actively collaborated with strong towns to learn about the issues affecting our community and possible solutions like the Mainstreet Initiative. I intend to continue this in order to crowd source the best solutions for our community.

Regional Cooperation and Funding: Would you increase Roanoke’s recreation funding from 2% to 3% and partner regionally to improve outdoor infrastructure?

I have a proven track record of bringing together multiple localities to fund and execute my work at Virginia harm reduction coalition.I currently serve 6 localities and braid, over 12 funding sources to do this, I support increasing recreational funds for the health and wellness of our community and our economic future.

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