Forgive the sports metaphors — after all, this year there’s an ex-quarterback in the running in Western North Carolina’s most-watched electoral contest. That said, this is decidedly not a game: The ’06 elections could alter the political playing field in ways that will affect everyone who has a stake in public policy. Name your issue […]
Author: Jon Elliston
Showing 316-336 of 349 results
Heath Shuler
Heath Shuler Age: 34Residence: WaynesvilleOccupation: entrepreneurEducation: B.S. psychology, Univ. of TennesseeParty: DemocratPolitical experience: None; I am not a career politician. I have been a leader in my community through organizations such as Friends of the Smokies and Character Counts, and I led the fight against the sale of our national forest lands. 1. What should […]
Bobby L. Medford
Bobby L. Medford Age: 61Residence: Weaverville/North AshevilleOccupation: law enforcementEducation: graduate of Erwin High School; several years of training at the N.C. Justice Academy and A-B Tech.Party: RepublicanPolitical experience: Buncombe County sheriff since 1994 1. What are the pros and cons of maintaining the department’s sizeable force of auxiliary deputies? An auxiliary deputy is a fully […]
Bruce Goforth
Bruce Goforth Age: 64Residence: AshevilleOccupation: general contractorEducation: Reynolds High School; attended Gardner-Webb Univ. and Univ. of South AlabamaParty: DemocratPolitical experience: N.C. House, 4 years; Buncombe County School Board, 8 years 1. What was the best piece of legislation the General Assembly passed last session? Why? The 2006 State Budget Act, which capped Medicaid cost to […]
Charles Taylor
Charles Taylor Age: 65Residence: BrevardOccupation: member of CongressEducation: B.A., J.D., Wake Forest Univ.: bachelors, 1963, jurist doctor, 1966Party: RepublicanPolitical experience: N.C. House 1966-72; N.C. Senate 1973-90; U.S. House of Representatives 1991-present 1. What should Congress do about the federal budget deficit, which has been running at historic highs? Last year the House Appropriations Committee reduced […]
Charles Thomas
Charles Thomas Age: 34Residence: Buncombe CountyOccupation: Financial adviserEducation: B.A. government, Wofford CollegeParty: RepublicanPolitical experience: no previous elected office 1. What was the best piece of legislation the General Assembly passed last session? Why? While no single piece of legislation stands out, there were several notable accomplishments. HB 248 strengthened our drug laws. Legislation was passed […]
Doug Jones
Doug Jones Age: 29Residence: North AshevilleOccupation: public-school teacherEducation: B.A. history, UNCA; M.S. Scottish history, Univ. of Edinburgh; M.A. constitutional studies, ASUParty: DemocratPolitical experience: activist and campaign volunteer in Buncombe County off and on since 1996; Democratic precinct officer and chairman since 2002; chairman, Buncombe County Young Democrats, 2002-05; Democratic nominee for N.C. House, 2004 and […]
Eric Gorny
Eric Gorny Age: 35Residence: SwannanoaOccupation: self-employed tile-setterEducation: B.A. history, UNCAParty: RepublicanPolitical experience: activist for 7 years 1. What was the best piece of legislation the General Assembly passed last session? Why? Requiring our public-school classrooms to have a U.S. and N.C. flag. Children are also to recite the Pledge of Allegiance every morning. I believe […]
Martin Nesbitt
Martin Nesbitt Age: 60Residence: AshevilleOccupation: attorneyEducation: B.A., UNC-Chapel Hill, 1970; J.D., UNC-Chapel Hill School of Law, 1973Party: DemocratPolitical experience: N.C. House 1970-94, 1996-2003; N.C. Senate 2004-present 1. What was the best piece of legislation the General Assembly passed last session? Why? Funding for the mental-health-reform package. 2. What was the worst piece of legislation? Why? […]
Mike Harrison
Mike Harrison Age: 60Residence: BarnardsvilleOccupation: Col. (Ret.), U.S. Army; executive management consultant, IBM, small farmerEducation: B.A., Florida State; M.A., Central Michigan Univ.Party: RepublicanPolitical experience: Congressional liaison officer; candidate for Buncombe Board of Commissioners, 2004 1. What was the best piece of legislation the General Assembly passed last session? Why? Legislation that tightened restrictions on sexual […]
R.L. Clark
R.L. Clark Age: 75Residence: AshevilleOccupation: president, Walnut Cash & Carry, Inc.Education: B.A., Western Carolina College; M.A. education, WCUParty: RepublicanPolitical experience: N.C. State Senate 1995-96, 1997-98 1. What was the best piece of legislation the General Assembly passed last session? Why? Legislation providing additional funding for low-wealth county schools. Prevented schools being closed! 2. What was […]
Susan Fisher
Susan Fisher Age: 51Residence: West AshevilleOccupation: legislatorEducation: B.A. Univ. of Maryland; also attended Mars Hill CollegeParty: DemocratPolitical experience: N.C. House 2003-present; Asheville School Board, 8 years total, 4 as chair; former president, Asheville-Buncombe League of Women Voters 1. What was the best piece of legislation the General Assembly passed last session? I am very proud […]
Van Duncan
Van Duncan Age: 42Residence: Erwin HillsOccupation: instructor/coordinator at N.C. Justice AcademyEducation: B.S. criminal justice, WCU; Administrative Officers Management Program, N.C. StateParty: DemocratPolitical experience: first run for public office 1. What are the pros and cons of maintaining the department’s sizeable force of auxiliary deputies? Qualified reserve officers can be a tremendous asset to any department, […]
Dare to dream
Whether you’re working hard or hardly working, chances are you can name a job you’d rather be doing — some choice vocation that would reward the heart, mind and wallet. Some folks find that job; others just ponder it wistfully from time to time. Of course, just what that job might be varies from person […]
Cheap space
text and photos by Jon Elliston Chris Bower is sitting in a low-rent apartment space in downtown Asheville’s Chicken Alley, surrounded by other people’s trash. And he loves it. In fact, he’s spent the past year-and-a-half laboriously gathering what most folks would consider refuse, scraps or outright junk, and piecing it all together like a […]
From these mountains
Southern Appalachia has been a driving force behind many of the greatest advances in American culture, music and politics. That’s author Jeff Biggers‘ story, and as unlikely as it may seem, he’s sticking to it. In his new book, The United States of Appalachia: How Southern Mountaineers Brought Independence, Culture, and Enlightenment to America (Shoemaker […]
Nice place to visit
Tunnel Road has seen its share of change over the years. But there’s one long-running business that seems untouched by time: The Mountaineer Inn, one of the cheaper motels on the strip leading east from the tunnel to the Asheville Mall. The neon sign, erected in the 1950s, depicts a barefoot, threadbare hillbilly with a […]
Asheville’s metaphysical fascist
William Dudley Pelley spent the 1920s as a Hollywood screenwriter cranking out all manner of melodramas. But while a few of his scripts garnered decent returns at the box office, none told a tale as fantastic and tragic as his own real-life saga. You won’t learn much about Pelley from local histories of Asheville, where […]
Breaking taboos
“We provide people the opportunity to talk about things that never get talked about — and that’s probably the best thing that we can do for the community,” says Deborah Miles, executive director of the Center for Diversity Education. A recent CDE exhibit titled Of Many Colors, for example, highlights the experiences of people living […]
Questions for time travelers
Sure, President Lincoln and other leaders of his day were sharp folks, but we’ve got more than a century of accumulated knowledge and history that they weren’t privy to. So, hindsight being 20/20, wouldn’t it be nice to share a little of our keen vision with a host of Civil War-era personages? Or maybe just […]
Who’s in charge here?
Asheville resident Craig Sloan was just drifting off to sleep last Aug. 19 when helicopters with their lights off began buzzing low overhead, and he heard what sounded like gunfire and percussion grenades. For a moment, Sloan wondered whether prisoners had broken out of the nearby Buncombe County Jail. Stepping outside, he looked toward City/County […]