Tim Moffitt to be short-term District 3 commissioner, questions remain about November’s ballot

Former House Representative Tim Moffitt will be the short-term replacement for the District 3 seat on the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners. He has not indicated if he will run for the post in November.

The Buncombe County GOP is selecting a familiar face to fill a vacant District 3 seat on the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners. Republican leadership unanimously voted to tap former Representative Tim Moffitt for the vacancy left when Miranda DeBruhl suddenly resigned last month. Moffitt beat out six other candidates during a special meeting on Thursday, June 2. Moffitt is slated to be sworn-in at the commissioners’ next meeting on Tuesday, June 7.

However, County GOP Chair Nathan West says leadership still has two key questions to answer: Who will be on the ballot for District 3 in November? And who will run for Chair of the County Board? The seat Moffitt will occupy must be elected to a two-year term in November; West says Moffitt has not yet indicated he wants to campaign for the post.

West says Republican leadership hopes to have District 3 and Chair candidates by the end of the month. According to state law they have until Sept. 8 to select names for those races, and West says they will be deliberate. “We’re going to sit down again with all the candidates we met with yesterday and really figure out the best course of action. We’re not going to rush a decision, but we do want to make it as soon as possible,” he said, adding “We have some good possibilities for the future.”

In the meantime, West says they wanted someone familiar with political protocol to be on the Board of Commissioners. “It was important to have someone that can hit the ground running, and Moffitt is very capable of going in there and immediately understanding procedures and how the meetings run, as well as understanding budgets and things of that nature. That’s very important given that we are looking at the budget right now.”

“We look forward to what Moffitt will do in working with county commissioners and the board, and we look forward to November,” added West.

Buncombe County Democrats are set to meet on Saturday, June 18, to select a candidate for November’s District 3 race.

Xpress has reached out to Moffitt for an interview and will update the article accordingly.

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About Dan Hesse
I grew up outside of Atlanta and moved to WNC in 2001 to attend Montreat College. After college, I worked at NewsRadio 570 WWNC as an anchor/reporter and covered Asheville City Council and the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners starting in 2004. During that time I also completed WCU's Master of Public Administration program. You can reach me at dhesse@mountainx.com.

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13 thoughts on “Tim Moffitt to be short-term District 3 commissioner, questions remain about November’s ballot

  1. Patrick Price

    You have got to be kidding. Tim Moffit is certainly not one to represent the people of Buncombe County. His idea of what is best for the people of Buncombe is so warped it defies reason.

  2. bsummers

    West says Moffitt has not yet indicated he wants to campaign for the post.

    Isn’t that a little odd? One would think that actually holding the seat for 5 months would be such a valuable campaign asset, they would insist that anyone getting the temporary position would also be intending to run for the permanent seat.

    What other shoes are going to drop in the cockamamie GOP side of this district? Does anyone know exactly what “business opportunity” caused Miranda DeBruhl to drop out? Has anyone heard a peep from Kay Olsen, the Republican supposedly running against Brian Turner in the State Representative race in this same district? She hasn’t raised a dime, even though… hey, isn’t that Nathan West’s wife sending in Olsen’s filings as her “treasurer”?:

    http://cf.ncsbe.gov/cf_rpt_search_org/cf_report_image.aspx?DID=197686

    Has anyone asked Kay Olsen if she really wants to run for office?

    If I were a GOP voter in this district, I would be feeling seriously jerked around.

  3. jay28806

    What a great way to remind voters it was the Republicans that stole Asheville’s water supply. You would think the Republicans would not want to remind voters in an election year that Moffit sponsored the bill that stole our water without compensation, and was immediately voted out of office. I have always wondered if his 2 years in office was worth the lifetime of enemies he made. I can’t believe he has the gall to show his face in Asheville. I guess criminals really do return to the scene of the crime.

    • Tim-Peck

      Certainly you are right, jay28806. The esteemed, successful and beloved Mr. Tim Moffitt IS returning to the scene of a crime. But I fear you have wildly misidentified the perpetrators of it.

      • bsummers

        Oh do tell, “Tim-Peck” (if that is your real name). Who did perpetrate it?

        • Yep

          Historically, in NC, it’s usually been the democrackkks who controlled us for over 140+ years …
          Absolutely thrilled with Tim Moffitt agreeing to step in !!!

    • TimPeckish

      Look on the bright side. How many opportunities will you have in life to vote a rubber-faced despot with frog lips out of office twice?

  4. bsummers

    I don’t care which office Tim decides to run for (commissioner, chairman, state rep., hell Tim, why not run for Governor?… ). Let’s just all pray he has the same PR team on board that he had last time.

    • bsummers

      Speaking of which, Mr. Peck (the real one) is totally silent about this, both here and on the twitter. Isn’t that odd?

      I wonder if one Tim said to the other Tim, “Dude, please stay off my side.”

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