Press release from Cecil Bothwell:
Citing his successful record as a member of Asheville’s City Council, Cecil Bothwell has filed for re-election. “I have always listened to the people of Asheville and have done my utmost to move the City in the right direction,” he said. “While commercial interests often seem to pull the strings, I have and will continue to fashion a government that works toward environmental health, social justice and economic equity. I regard climate change as an existential threat to modern civilization and consider that issue in every decision I make in both my personal and public life.”
Bothwell’s Council accomplishments include: a Civil Liberties Resolution prohibiting discrimination based on race, gender, gender identity, ethnicity, or place of national origin by all City employees; making Asheville a Living Wage Certified employer; requiring Living Wages as a minimum for economic development grants; single stream “Big Blue” recycling; raising the City’s carbon reduction goal to 4 percent per year; a street light retrofit that saves $350K per year; expansion of the transit/greenway/bike-ped system; a steady increase in homeless services; substantial changes in Asheville Police Department policy; requiring Council approval of more development projects; and winning some battles with Raleigh.
Bothwell is Chair of the Public Safety Committee and has served on the Finance Committee, Housing and Economic Development Committee, the Asheville Area Riverfront Redevelopment Commission, and as liaison to the Sustainability Advisory Committee on Energy and the Environment, the Asheville Tree Commission, the Asheville Regional Airport Authority, the Noise Ordinance Appeals Board, the Recreation Advisory Committee, and the Board of Electrical Examiners.
Bothwell’s career includes decades as a green building contractor followed by years as a writer and editor. He was founding editor of the Warren Wilson College environmental journal in the 1990s, wrote a radio and syndicated print commentary for ten years, and became Managing Editor of Asheville’s Mountain Xpress in 2002. He has ten books in print, one song collection, was included in the first issue of the Asheville Poetry Review (after winning the 1993 Southeast Poetry Slam), and his paintings have been exhibited in numerous regional shows. He has lived in solar powered homes for most of the past 37 years, currently resides in a net-zero grid connected all electric house and has been an organic gardener/farmer for 45 years. He was first elected to Council in 2009 and re-elected in 2013.
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