Press release from Jeremy Goldstein:
Dear Colleagues and Friends,
I am pleased to announce my candidacy for Asheville City Council and to ask for your support. I believe a local business owner with a common sense, moderate voice is needed on City Council as we continue to cultivate an Asheville for Everyone.
For eighteen years I have worked as a commercial real estate broker at G/M Property Group, a local firm that I started with my business partner, John Menkes. In this role, I have searched for opportunities to enrich our downtown and our overall quality of life through thoughtful growth, re-energizing development, and preservation of treasured assets. Notable highlights include work on the Grove Arcade Public Market, multiple South Slope revitalization projects, representation of WCQS, and investments in what we affectionately refer to as downtown’s West Edge.
For the past six years I have served on the Planning and Zoning Commission, including almost four years as its Chair. I have worked hard to build trust with neighborhoods and communities through careful stewardship of the City’s development ordinances and plans.
I am also personally invested in the careful growth of Asheville. I have restored three historic Downtown properties for commercial use and earned an award from the Preservation Society of Asheville and Buncombe for adaptive re-use of an 1894 Queen Anne Victorian home at 263 Haywood Street.
I support a defined process for development, formulated with extensive public outreach and engagement, that encourages balanced growth and is not subject to the political extremes of the day. Increased density in our downtown, combined with incentives for affordable housing and infrastructure improvements, will provide space for people to live and work, increase our tax base, make living in Asheville more affordable and accessible, and protect our existing neighborhoods.
I moved to Asheville to live an intentional existence. My employer did not transfer me. I did not come for a high-paying job. I came because I wanted to inhabit this place and make it my home. Every year I meet talented newcomers from all over the world. They also come intentionally, often without jobs, as I did. I am gratified that they are joining and strengthening our community. As more people inevitably flock to our city, it is imperative that we welcome them with grace and intention, help them build and sustain a life here, and preserve the qualities that we all value and love about Asheville.
My wife and I hope that our four sons will live in Asheville when they are older. We want good jobs, a bustling economy, natural beauty, and an independent spirit to be here for them when they do. I’m committed to working toward this vision, for my children and for yours.
I ask for your support,
Jeremy Goldstein
goldstein2017.comFacebook and Twitter: @GoldsteinforAVL or search “Goldstein for Council”
Jeremy, you mention in your press release that you support a defined process for development with extensive public outreach and engagement but as a citizen of Asheville who recently attended my first Planning and Zoning Commission meeting (where you serve as Chair), my concerns were not adequately heard or addressed. Can you speak to how you might represent families when you yourself are owner and broker of G/M Property Group? We need council members who represent us and not the hotel industry.