Letter: Tovish cares about transparency

Graphic by Lori Deaton

I write to express my support for Nina Tovish for Asheville City Council.

I have known Nina for 13 years. Though we have plenty of differences in our politics, I see in her qualities that would make for an excellent member of the City Council:
• Her personal integrity is impeccable. This matters, after recent massive corruption and cover-up of corruption at the county level have reminded us that our area is not immune to such evils.
• She cares deeply about transparency and accountability in public servants.
• She is among the smartest people I have ever known — a quick study, analytical.
• She is unafraid to ask probing questions and unlikely to stop asking them until she gets to the heart of whatever matter is before her.
• She does not mistake what is for what must be and does not accept “because that’s how we’ve always done it” for an explanation. Rather, her instinct is to always be looking for better processes and solutions.
• She is civil and cooperative working on a team but not afraid to be a dissenter when a group consensus is heading in the wrong direction.
• Increasing citizen input and participation is her most important goal. I believe she will fulfill her promise to make herself available to groups and individuals who have a perspective to share on any matter before the Council.
• Relatedly, I am confident that she will give a fair hearing to people with very different political viewpoints — people like me.

Please visit tovish4avl.com for more detailed issue statements and for Nina’s pledge to voters on openness and accountability.

Look for her name at the end of the alphabetically ordered primary ballot.

— Robert J. Woolley
Asheville

Editor’s note: The writer reports volunteering for the candidate’s campaign.

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.

About Letters
We want to hear from you! Send your letters and commentary to letters@mountainx.com

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.

One thought on “Letter: Tovish cares about transparency

  1. SpareChange

    Unfortunately, missing from the list of admirable qualities is any reference to the kind of governmental or professional experience which would provide the necessary attributes Asheville so desperately needs. Asheville has an abundance of smart, well-intentioned, progressive transplants who have moved here in the past 10-15 years. Those are excellent qualities in a good resident, neighbor, or active citizen, and might be sufficient for being elected to the council in a very small town. However, Asheville is not a small town, and being on the city council requires a lot more than “smarts,” sound values and good intentions.

    Asheville is the hub municipality for the seventh largest metropolitan statistical area in the entire state, and the largest city in the WNC region. It has close to 100,000 residents within the city limits, and more than 300,000 in the MSA which in various ways depends on it. It has a budget of approximately $200 million, more than 1,000 employees, and many others who directly or indirectly contract with the city. The Asheville City Council needs seasoned and experienced professionals with direct knowledge about government, budgeting, service delivery, personnel, and numerous substantive policy areas. It already has more than enough well intentioned people who lack records of accomplishment in government, policy making, business or management.

Leave a Reply

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.