Holly Jones: “There is a war on Buncombe County”

Announcement from Buncombe County Commissioner Holly Jones’ campaign:

Standing Up to Bullies in Raleigh and Fighting for Buncombe County

“There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.” — Elie Weisel

One of the responsibilities of local elected officials is to be a voice for the communities we represent. When laws from Raleigh hurt our local economy, damage our environment, strip our citizens of rights, those imparted with the public’s trust cannot be silent.

In the past year our local community has experienced devastating bullying from a few powerful officials in Raleigh. We must say “Enough”.

Make no mistake about it; there is a war on Buncombe County, its citizens and its economic well-being. While there has been no lack of egregious proposals from Raleigh, many efforts single out Buncombe County. In case you haven’t been following local news, here is a recap.

1) At a time when job creation and retention is critical to our people, a proposal from Raleigh threatens to strangle our community’s largest employer, Mission Hospital. Mission Hospital employs 7000 people and has been a primary job creator in this difficult time. Raleigh’s response: to place unparalled bureaucratic requirements on our community’s primary economic engine.

2) Despite unprecedented collaboration between the city and county, a multi-million dollar investment in water infrastructure, and an outcry from hundreds of citizens, powerful people in Raleigh instead are choosing to settle old scores, seize property from the citizens of Asheville, waste taxpayer money on expensive legal suits and put the natural resource of “water”, one of our greatest economic assets, in jeopardy.

3) 98% of NC residents have the right to determine how their county commissioners are elected. In a last minute maneuver, during the General Assembly’s last long session, the majority in power determined to strip Buncombe County citizens of this right given to millions of other North Carolinians.

4) Buncombe County’s ordinance restricting the billboard industry’s ability to damage our environment was overridden recently by a new state law. Despite the importance of tourism to our economy and clear community values relating to billboards, Raleigh has overridden local determination, not even giving our citizens the required opportunity to voice their opposition.

Each of these abuses to our local autonomy is appalling. Make no mistake about it; each will have negative economic effects. When such blatant abuse of our citizens’ rights and values are trampled over, local bodies cannot cower in the corner, hoping no more damage is imparted. I respect the power of the state, but I will not respect the abuse of this power.

We must speak up for our community. As your Buncombe County Commissioner, I have been a strong voice for our community and I will continue to do so if re-elected.

I am excited to have Brownie Newman also running for a seat on Buncombe County Commission. Brownie Newman has a proven track record of standing up for our local concerns and he understands the responsibility of being charged with the public’s trust.

I ask voters in District One to make your voice heard. Cast your two votes for County Commissioner for Holly Jones and Brownie Newman.