Asheville City Council Candidate Oct 12 forum (via Twitter)

Xpress reporter Brian Postelle covered via Twitter tonight’s forum for Asheville City Council candidates. These are his tweets:

Good turnout at Kenilworth forum. First post-primary forum. 7:09 pm
Cape was invited but is out of town. No ruling from BOE on Croft after Miller exit, he is participating tonight. 7:14 pm
Smith, Mumpower, Bothwell, Manheimer, Croft present. WCQS news director David Hurand moderating. 7:15 pm
J. Neal Jackson not here. Candidates make opening comments. Cape campaign mgr reads statement from Cape ahead of Croft’s opening. 7:25 pm
Bothwell: 1st priority is local response to climate change. Least important: enforcement of fed. Immigration law. 7:35 pm
Smith: 1st priority, prepare Avl. For large sustainability changes in NC and USA. Least: more parking. myloc.me/10Ccs 7:36 pm
Croft on current council: throws too much money around and mishandling infrastructure. 7:38 pm
Manheimer: Citizens have told council where priorities are. “We have a lot of master plans. Our job is to implement them.” 7:41 pm
Bothwell: “Council has earned its reputation for not listening.” Cites Sayles bleachery, Ellington, hotel @ Basilica. 7:44 pm
Question: when it comes to large development … Council should have final say. Smith, Bothwell, Mumpower, Manheimer say “yes.” 7:50 pm
Mumpower on restricting new development: I am discouraged by people who come here and want to close the door behind them. 7:59 pm
Bothwell: I think I can work with Carl Mumpower just fine b/c I know where he’s coming from. Though I may disagree with him 180. 8:01 pm
Smith: Burton Street deserves special protection by city. “It fell down and got back up. We need to respect that.” 8:03 pm
Manheimer: If conflict of interest due to law firm client before council, she will ask to be recused from discussion. 8:06 pm
Bothwell: There needs to be a citizen appeal in Dwntwn Mstr Plan development approval process. 8:13 pm
Croft asked about Agenda 21. Says Avl. pays dues to UN sustainabilty org. that keeps Avl “lock step with the rest of the planet.” 8:17 pm
Mumpower: Our council is incredibly transparant. Wouldn’t say the same about city staff. “I think they circle the wagons.” 8:21 pm
Smith: public comment on development needs to come sooner in process to improve process for builders and citizens. 8:24 pm
Bothwell: Don’t spend so much $$$ on luring people here. Tourism dollars need to be available for Avl infrastructure eg: room tax. 8:30 pm
Development questions easily dominate Kenilworth forum. 8:39 pm
Bothwell: a living wage can be paid in private industry. Should be required for city contractors. Manheimer agrees. 8:53 pm
Croft: says he can find a way to lower taxes. He and Mumpower agree undocumented workers drain local economy. 8:55 pm
Smith good govt. transparancy could lead to cowdsourcing: We can get more than eyes on it and ears on it, but also brains on it. 9:00 pm
Closing statements underway at Kenilworth forum. 9:01 pm
Kenilworth forum is a wrap. 9:06 pm

SHARE

Thanks for reading through to the end…

We share your inclination to get the whole story. For the past 25 years, Xpress has been committed to in-depth, balanced reporting about the greater Asheville area. We want everyone to have access to our stories. That’s a big part of why we've never charged for the paper or put up a paywall.

We’re pretty sure that you know journalism faces big challenges these days. Advertising no longer pays the whole cost. Media outlets around the country are asking their readers to chip in. Xpress needs help, too. We hope you’ll consider signing up to be a member of Xpress. For as little as $5 a month — the cost of a craft beer or kombucha — you can help keep local journalism strong. It only takes a moment.

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

5 thoughts on “Asheville City Council Candidate Oct 12 forum (via Twitter)

  1. “ASHEVILLE — City Councilman Kelly Miller’s decision to quit the race for Asheville government created an empty slot on the election ballot for Nov. 3. That space will now be filled by candidate Ryan Croft, who finished 7th in last week’s primary.”

    http://snipr.com/shrjo

  2. Brian Postelle

    Tim,

    The BOE did announce today that Ryan Croft will be on the general ballot (more coverage on that coming). But it was not official last night. He was invited, as I understand it, as a courtesy while the decision was pending.

    Brian

  3. Barry Summers

    Tim would much rather see Robin Cape there. Tell us again why you’re promoting her candidacy, Tim?

Leave a Reply to Barry Summers ×

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.