Four candidates, including three Democrats in contested races, showed up to the event. Their three Republican opponents — Senate incumbent Chuck Edwards, House candidate Marilyn Brown and Commissioner Robert Pressley — didn’t appear. According to League policy, candidates without an opponent present are limited to a two-minute opening statement.
The final six candidates in the race for Asheville’s city council are by now veterans of many forums and panel discussions. Wednesday’s Council of Independent Business Owners (CIBO) forum emphasized issues of particular interest and importance to Asheville’s business community, yielding some answers frequently heard on the campaign trail and some that moved into more wonkish territory.
With an upcoming forum for Asheville City Council candidates, the Asheville Buncombe Food Policy Council hopes to make food insecurity one of the front-and-center campaign issues.
