Press release from Rich Lee for Asheville:
Asheville Multimodal Transportation Commission chairperson Rich Lee will file as a candidate for the nonpartisan 2020 City Council race today.
“I believe Asheville ought to be doing better, and I believe we can,” Lee said. “We can improve our day-to-day experiences in our city—right now. We can make things better now, even as we plan for a drastically different future.”
Lee cited Asheville’s bus system, infrastructure, and housing as areas “where we can see improvement now.” His vision for our future is one in which “we see safe, deeply affordable, and equitable neighborhoods and schools for all of us. A future in which we meet our commitments to 100% renewable energy.” This is a future that Lee says “we can only reach by working together.”
Lee, an advocate for social justice and sustainability, is known for his service on commissions and boards focused on transportation, food security, and green jobs. Lee is the Treasurer of the Buncombe Democratic Party and co-founder of a community Facebook group, Asheville Politics. He ran for City Council in 2017 and 2015, winning the primaries and finishing fourth and fifth in the general elections, respectively.
Lee stated those races “connected me with thousands of people whose hopes and concerns have shaped me,” giving him the chance giving him a chance to hear concerns that aren’t often raised in City Hall. His top priority, he says, is “carrying that “we” effort forward and being a council person for everybody who calls Asheville home.”
Lee has served as chair of the Multimodal Transportation Commission since 2017. The Commission is working to advance road, greenways, traffic calming and sidewalks projects across the city and launch a major overhaul of Asheville’s transit system beginning service in 2020. Lee’s board service has included East West Asheville Neighborhood Association, Bountiful Cities Project and Green Opportunities. Lee served on a task force to reduce injuries and deaths by motor vehicles and improve traffic flow in neighborhoods. He’s worked to improve quality of life for senior citizens through service with Blue Ridge Group Homes and the Buncombe County Triad.
Lee said that as a member of City Council he would further “our community’s ongoing work to ensure accountability in our government and police department, dismantle systems that feed inequality and climate change, serve and prepare our students, and leverage hotel taxes to work for the people who serve all those visitors.”
Lee, 40, works as a financial advisor at Edward Jones in Asheville. He has called Western North Carolina home since 1997. Lee started his family in Asheville after serving in the Peace Corps. He is married to Lindsay Furst, a veteran Buncombe County high school teacher. They have four children, all of whom attend Asheville City Schools.
For more information visit: RichLeeforAsheville.com
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