Here’s an excerpt from the Urban News cover story on commissioner candidate Keith Young:
President John F. Kennedy once said that those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.
Keith Young takes that belief seriously. He understands that change is the inescapable driver of history in the United States, that change is the law of life. Young, a native of Asheville and a 1998 graduate of Asheville High School, is stepping forward to make positive change happen in our community. He dreams of a better future, and to achieve it he has decided to run for Buncombe County Board of Commissioners.
This is the first year in Buncombe County’s 200-year history that candidates will be elected by district; before the state legislature changed the law last year, commissioners were elected county-wide. Now, Young explains, “there is this microcosm of demographics not representative of the whole county in each district, and those folks are screaming to be heard.”
Asked to respond to the concern of many residents that the new system will make commissioners more parochial in their interest, he notes, “Whether the new system is right or wrong, it’s here.”
Young will be a candidate for one of two seats in District 1, which includes most of Asheville proper.
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