Nancy Nehls Nelson runs for Buncombe County Commission

Press release from Nancy Nehls Nelson: 

Nancy Nehls (pronounced “kneels”) Nelson has announced she’s seeking the Democratic Party nomination for Buncombe County Commissioner in District 2. The seat, currently held by 2-term incumbent Democrat Ellen Frost, who will not seek re-election, represents the Eastern part of Buncombe County running from Fairview in the South, through Black Mountain and North to Weaverville, Barnardsville and parts of Leicester.

A retired AT&T Bell Labs Project Manager, Nelson ran for District 2 Commissioner for the first time in 2016. She won the Democratic Party primary by a commanding 8% over three opponents but fell a mere 317 votes short (<1%) in her race to unseat Republican incumbent Mike Fryar.  Nelson is ready again to apply her extensive experience in project management and financial oversight directly to county government.  Fiscal oversight is more important now than ever before.

“Local government is an extension of community,” says Nelson. “It needs input from residents, and not just in three minutes at a county meeting. The frustration of folks who feel their voice is not heard has not changed these past two years. I want to address that concern and continue to make Buncombe County even better.”

Nelson is committed to excellence in all levels of public education, simplified access to public services, wise land use that entices job growth, and support of crucial public health issues.  She is also committed to partnering with state government elected officials, who so closely monitor the work done by the commission.

Nelson is a member of the Land Conservation Advisory Board and a non-scientific member of the VA Hospital’s Institutional Review Board. She has also served as a Board of Elections Precinct Judge and a Member of the Weaverville Planning Board and has worked on several non-profit boards including Blue Ridge Public Radio. She teaches studio art at UNCA’s OLLI College for Seniors and has coached elementary school age girls in the Girls on the Run program.

Nelson lives on a Reems Creek valley ridge in Weaverville with her three rescue dogs. Her husband of 41 years, potter Curtis Nelson and her mother, a retired WWII US Army nurse from Hendersonville, both passed away in 2016 while she was running for office.  She spent the greater part of 2017 retooling her life after those devastating losses.  “My priorities as a county commissioner remain clear, and I’m ready to work for the benefit of our entire community,” says Nelson.

Nelson holds a B.A. from the University of Minnesota and a Masters Certificate from Stevens Institute of Technology. She is committed to serving as a full-time commissioner, accessible and responsive to all constituents.