Supporters and opponents

While Asheville’s elected officials may legally advocate for the Asheville bond referendum — and all seven of them have come out strongly in favor of it — city staff may only provide planning support and voter education. Dawa Hitch, the city’s director of communications and public engagement, says the telephone survey of Asheville voters, the city’s webpage related to the bond and a printed information sheet are all “strictly educational” in nature.

The informational flier and presentation boards recently created by her department, Hitch says, cost $4,463.42, and that money came from the department’s annual budget.

Education, Hitch explains, is central to the mission of her department. “Education is an essential part of our day-to-day work across so many different subjects,” she says. “We try to make sure that we are educating people on the range of things that the city is doing or considering doing. This time those efforts happen to be about the bond.”

An advocacy organization spearheaded by the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce, the AVL GO Bonds Committee, is campaigning in support of the bond. The organization has created promotional materials with a green and white color scheme, including yard signs. According to the committee’s website (avl.mx/32d), the group is registered with the supervisor of elections and is made up of organizations that have endorsed all three bonds, including:

• Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce
• United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County
• Asheville Buncombe Adult Soccer Association
• Asheville Buncombe Youth Soccer Association
• Asheville Ultimate Frisbee League
• River Arts District Artists
• River Arts District Business Association
• Asheville Downtown Association
• Mountain Housing Opportunities
• Asheville on Bikes
• Children First/Communities in Schools
• MountainTrue
• Land of the Sky Association of Realtors
• Friends of Connect Buncombe

Xpress wasn’t able to identify any business organizations that oppose the bonds. Council of Independent Business Owners’ Executive Director Mike Plemmons says that his group hasn’t taken a stand one way or the other. “If our members want to vote for it, fine. If they don’t, that’s fine, too,” he says. CIBO is more concerned with advancing the Interstate 26 Connector project, he explains. And the group would like to see the city be more aggressive in planning, funding and building infrastructure projects generally, he says.

The Mountain Area Citizens’ PAC has emerged as the main body opposing the bond. On its website (avl.mx/32e), an open letter to the mayor and City Council outlines the group’s position: “As a concerned taxpayer and citizen of the city of Asheville, I respectfully request that you withdraw your current bond proposal. Our city already has a substantial amount of debt and is not in good financial standing. Adding such an overwhelming amount of debt to this current total is not only worrisome but irresponsible to our future generations.” The group is collecting signatures of those who oppose the bond; at press time, fewer than 100 signatures appeared on the group’s online petition.