Asheville Rivergate alleges insider job negotiations between city employees and New Belgium

Posted on — Max Hunt

An article posted to the local government watchdog site Asheville Rivergate yesterday spotlights a series of emails between Asheville city attorney Jannice Ashley and New Belgium concerning open positions at the brewing company’s new Asheville facility.

The report contains emails sent between Ashley—using her Ashevillenc.gov email account—and New Belgium representative Joe Davis, in which the city attorney inquires about an open position on behalf of a friend and also asks about the possibility of an open legal staff position for New Belgium’s east coast facility.

Asheville Rivergate claims that Ashley has been part of an effort to reach out to property owners in the River Arts District about the possibility of eminent domain being implemented in the RAD. The article also alleges that the Memorandum of Understanding agreement between the city of Asheville and New Belgium specifically excludes prohibitions about conflict of interests scenarios in the two entities’ dealings.

Read the full article at ashevillerivergate.com.

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About Max Hunt
Max Hunt grew up in South (New) Jersey and graduated from Warren Wilson College in 2011. History nerd; art geek; connoisseur of swimming holes, hot peppers, and plaid clothing. Follow me @J_MaxHunt
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2 thoughts on “Asheville Rivergate alleges insider job negotiations between city employees and New Belgium”

  1. Bryan Simpson

    Hey Mountain Xpress,

    Thanks for the post, wanted to add a little context specific to this e-mail exchange. Characterizing a courtesy e-mail that acknowledges receipt of a referral as “insider job negotiations” greatly distorts the reality of a very banal exchange. We receive first- and third-person referrals every day, and we generally respond that we consider all qualified candidates for open positions. That’s exactly what this exchange outlines, nothing more.

    So, thanks again for the opportunity to clarify. We’re excited to add new positions as they arise in Asheville and there’s plenty of hiring still to be done.

    All the best,

    Bryan Simpson
    PR Director
    New Belgium Brewing

  2. Max Hunt

    Hi Brian,

    Thank you for contributing your perspective to this topic. I appreciate you and New Belgium voicing your thoughts on this. I agree that the phrasing in question was a bit misleading on my part, and have updated my content to reflect that.

    While the scope of the article published by Asheville Rivergate does seem to allude to and frame the correspondence as a form of insider negotiating, I do recognize that without having investigated the matter myself in great detail, such a phrasing was best left to the author of the original article, who did the research and can refute or agree with the perspective you provide.

    Thank you for voicing your concerns about this! It’s always a great help to me to receive feedback on my reporting and to be alerted when concerns arise with my work.

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