State Sen. Terry Van Duyn initially voted to put the victim’s rights amendment on the ballot.
Press release from Stop Deceptive Amendments:
ASHEVILLE– Today, the Mayors of Asheville and Weaverville, along with eleven other local elected officials from Buncombe County, released a letter detailing the harmful impacts the amendments would have on local communities and urging their constituents to vote against them. Asheville City Council stood unanimously opposed to the amendments.
“I urge voters to vote against all six proposed constitutional amendments. These constitutional amendments represent nothing but political manipulation at its finest. I know the voters of North Carolina are smarter than to fall for this trickery. Vote no on all six,” said Mayor Esther Manheimer of Asheville.
Local leaders from across the state are particularly troubled by the amendment that would lower the maximum income tax rate from 10 percent to 7 percent – which officials say would require local governments to raise revenue in other ways in order to meet the demands of growing communities.
“I’m concerned that many of these amendments will further require local governments to fund programs and reduces state revenue to local governments,” said Gwen Wisler, Asheville City Council Member.
Attendees included Mayor Manheimer, Council Member Gwen Wisler, Council Member Bryan Haynes, County Commissioner Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, State Senator Terry Van Duyn, and Register of Deeds Drew Reisinger. The speakers also highlighted the detrimental impacts that all the amendments would have on North Carolina’s local governments, notably, that they are misleading to voters and are wholly unnecessary additions to the North Carolina constitution.
“I join people all across North Carolina in speaking out against the proposed amendments. They are unnecessary, deceptive in their language, and dangerous to the balance of powers in our state,” said Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, District 1 Buncombe County Commissioner. “Amending the constitution is an act of gravity that should be reserved for protecting or establishing fundamental rights and protections. Not one of these amendments passes that basic test – instead, this is about the politics of division and a flagrant disregard for the democratic institutions of our state. I urge people to vote against all six amendments.”
Local leaders from Buncombe joined more than eighty local elected officials around North Carolina who have signed the letter opposing all six constitutional amendments.
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