Press release:
Mayor Esther Manheimer files for re-election
“It has been and continues to be my great pleasure, honor and responsibility to serve the people of Asheville as your Mayor,” Manheimer said. “I am inspired to give more, fight more, and achieve more for all of our neighbors in this vibrant city that we all call home.”
Voters elected Manheimer to the Asheville City Council in 2009 and then elected her as Mayor of Asheville in 2013. Mayor Manheimer led the successful initiative for infrastructure bonds and the successful defense of our water system against an attempted takeover by the state. Manheimer also supported the move for just compensation for 1,200 city employees and has promoted equity for our LGBT, minority and immigrant communities.
“My emphasis is on bringing people together to achieve meaningful progress,” Manheimer said. “Reinvesting in our city, protecting our water supply, expanding equity—these were and continue to be community goals, and our successes are shared accomplishments.”
“In Asheville we have much to celebrate and be grateful for, and yet we continue to have real challenges. We are navigating the pressures of growth, and we are dismantling systemic inequity, and we are fending off the often-destructive whims of legislators in Raleigh—just to name a few,” Manheimer said. “These issues and more are on my mind every day. I believe that we can and we will make Asheville an even better city for all its residents, and I intend to lead us to that future.”
Mayor Manheimer graduated from Asheville High School. She earned Law and Public Administration degrees from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. Mayor Manheimer worked for Meals on Wheels of Buncombe County and worked as a legislative attorney for the General Assembly. She is a partner in the Van Winkle Law Firm and specializes in land and commercial litigation. Mayor Manheimer has volunteered with Pisgah Legal Services and earned the 2012 Most Valuable Mountain Area Volunteer Lawyer award for providing the most hours of free legal representation to low-income people in need. She is president of the North Carolina Metropolitan Mayor’s Coalition. Mayor Manheimer and her husband Mark Harris, a social studies teacher and wrestling coach at Enka High School, have three boys who are all lifelong students in Asheville City Schools and are active in youth sports.
The nonpartisan municipal election is this fall. The filing period opened at noon today and closes at noon on July 21st.
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