Mountain Xpress: You announced your candidacy in dramatic fashion at the Republican County Convention in March. … I think you said, “We live in the heart of enemy territory and we have to strike a blow from the inside.” Could you explain what you meant by that?
Mark Cates: Absolutely. In my campaign I have asked people to put a bumper sticker on their car with my name on it, and they’ll say “no.” They’re afraid something will happen to their car. … They’ll say, “last time I put a Republican candidate’s bumper sticker on my car, my car had a big scratch on it when I came back.”
… I’m not the one who defined it this way. Basically, if you’re a Republican in this town, people will treat you poorly. … I was canvassing neighborhoods and I asked someone to put up a yard sign, and they supported me, and they were like “last time a put up a yard sign” — I can’t remember what candidate they said — basically it kept disappearing so much, they would have to come out and replace it.
Another person said they drove through their yard over a yard sign.
I moved to Asheville. I used to live in North Carolina back in the 90s. When my son was born, I brought him back to Asheville because I wanted to raise him in the city. I love Asheville. I’m not the one who has defined it the way it is.
Just the other night, they had a candidates forum, WNC for Change. And they didn’t invite the candidates that weren’t of a like mindset. They said I could come but not participate.
So when I made that comment, I feel it’s important to hold to my values and stand up and express them. And if people are going to retaliate against me for that, I feel it’s important to prevent that kind of behavior. Basically, I was stating that it doesn’t matter what your political affiliation is. People shouldn’t be afraid to put a candidate’s bumper sticker on their car. And unfortunately, sadly, that’s Asheville sometimes.
I mean, Asheville’s a loving, generous city. But there’s elements that are really against Republicans. And they’re passionately against Republicans. And I felt like this is something we have to put a stop to. This is something we actively work to change. And so basically, that was my point on that.
It’s unfortunate, but it’s something that has to change. No one should be concerned about telling people their political affiliation and telling them they’re a Republican. No one should be treated as an outcast because they’re a Republican.
I love Asheville. I love living here. But I think that behavior has to stop.
Can you clarify what you meant by “striking a blow from the inside?” Are you referring to what you’d like to do to change the situation?
Absolutely. I’m actually engaging the community right now. I’m reaching out, getting to know people who are Democrats, who are progressives. I’m really trying to reach out to say, “get to know me before you judge me.”
Do you see any ways you can improve that kind of partisan atmosphere if you’re on City Council?
If you look at at my economic plan, I tried to build something in that plan that would appeal to everyone, something that was bipartisan.
… If you look at the material from my campaign, it’s bipartisanship. I think it’s extremely important that we work together. It’s not about whether it’s a Democrat solution or a Republican solution or conservative solution. Basically the question should be, “Is it good for the city?” Because if it’s good for the city, everyone should support it. So I’m happy to reach out and work with other people …
You mentioned your economic-development plan, which calls for making Asheville the home for global environmentalism. Why do you think that’s the right approach, and what can you do on City Council to make that happen?
We needed a way to reach out to everyone in the community. And this is extremely important issue, and it’s an issue we’re extremely passionate about in Asheville. I’m an engineer by training, and this is actually an issue that’s close to my heart. And I felt like this is an idea that everyone in Asheville can get behind and support. …
It doesn’t matter about party affiliation. Everyone in Asheville is very passionate about protecting the environment, about supporting local companies. …
One of the things we really need on Council is someone who’s going to focus on jobs and the economy. …. This is what I can try and drive.
We’ve got more than 17,000 unemployed people in our area. We’re the seventh worst place in the nation for hunger. We need to be having a conversation about that. And that would be my voice on City Council. We need to tackle those issues, deal with those problems. And I feel that with my experience with business development, that’s something I could really focus on in Council.
What would be your approach to improving affordable housing in the area?
If we have more quality jobs in Asheville, and people have better salaries, that will help with the affordable-housing problem. It certainly is an issue. But no house is affordable if you don’t have a job. And it’s extremely hard to buy a house if you’re in a low-paying job. What we need to do is have higher-paying jobs in Asheville. And that’s the best way to deal with this affordable-housing problem.
Next year you’re likely to face a budget that’s going to either require revenue increases or service cuts of some sort. What would be your approach? How would you raise revenues, if you want to go that route? Or what services would you cut?
I would implement my economic plan. Because I think my economic plan would actually increase revenue.
How so?
If we can attract businesses here, and we have people in higher paying jobs, they’ll be paying more taxes. They’ll go to restaurants more, they’ll go to retail stores. They’ll purchase. If we have those businesses here, the city of Asheville will actually have more sales tax revenue. …
What I read of your plan, it was a longterm, big-scale plan. Are you saying you would expect results within a year that would effect the budget next year?
Well, there’s different parts of the plan. If you go through, it’s certainly true that part two is a longterm plan. But there’s other parts of it that we could start doing tomorrow. And we could bare the fruits of that effort.
People love Asheville. I work a lot in Silicon Valley. And companies in Silicon Valley are heading straight to Texas. And they’re doing it today as we speak. My opinion is the only reason they’re not coming to Asheville is we’re not going out there and talking to them more. They don’t want to go to Texas. They just don’t know about Asheville yet. …
So just to be clear, you’re saying you don’t foresee having to make cuts in next year’s budget or look for other ways of increasing revenue because you think your business plan will generate more revenue through an increased tax base?
No, that certainly could be an issue. But I think that’s also treating the symptoms and not really focusing on the problem. There could be those kind of decisions to made. But what I would chose to do is focus on economic development. Because I think if we focus there, then some of the other problems will become easier to solve.
What should the city be looking for in a new police chief and what, if anything, do you think the APD should be doing to improve itself in the wake of some of the recent controversies?
I think that when we look at the crime index in Asheville, then what we see is that we have one of the lower crime indexes for comparable cities in the state of North Carolina. So in some ways, they’re doing a really good job. But I think that we have to have someone who’s really good at communication. There’s certainly an image problem. And with the police chief who has the communication skills, who can really reach out to the community, I think that would go a long way to solving some of the problems.
We don’t some great things with the Citizens Police Academy. But we could do some more outreach to the communities themselves. Chicago has a program where they have an alternative policing program, the CAPs program, where the police and community really work together on policing the neighborhood. And I think that kind of outreach and communication could go a long way to improving the image and relationship between the department and the neighborhoods.
What about the city’s relationship with the General Assembly in Raleigh? Do you see anything you can do to improve that relationship and work more constructively with Raleigh to improve conditions in the city?
Absolutely. I think that’s one of the most important issues that anyone who gets elected to City Council will have to deal with. We have to change our relationship with Raleigh. That whole relationship needs to be redefined, and we need to really reach out.
The fact of the matter is we’re not a home-ruled state. So we need to build that bridge to Raleigh. Because frankly, Raleigh doesn’t have to build it to us. As a city council, we need to take that on. That would be one of the things I’d focus on.
How would you go about doing that?
The first thing I would do is stop playing partisan politics with our representatives. We’ve had a lot of that going on lately and it doesn’t help.
It goes back to bipartisanship. Any challenge that we have, we’re going to have to fix it together. We have to make sure that we’re building relationships in a way that’s positive, so we can do that.
I’m willing to work with anyone. It doesn’t matter what political party they’re affiliated with.
You mentioned the difficulties of being a Republican in such a partisan and largely Democratic city. How are you going to win with the demographics and the odds seemingly stacked up against you?
It’s going to be hard work. I’ve been canvassing neighborhoods. I’ve been attending every meeting that I possibly can, hoping to show people that if they elect me, if they vote for me, I’m going to work for what’s best for Asheville. … And I think with my economic plan, people are really starting to see that. My economic policy really appeals to every part of Asheville. And I really think that’s striking a cord with people.
So “striking a blow from the inside” really means “engaging the community… getting to know people who are Democrats, who are progressives.” You know, I never would have guessed that. Now please excuse me while I split my sides laughing.
“I feel it’s important to hold to my values and stand up and express them. And if people are going to retaliate against me for that, I feel it’s important to prevent that kind of behavior.”
Wow. I’m sorry you feel so victimized that you have to lash out like this. “Strike a blow”? “Put a stop to”? “I think that behavior has to stop.”?
Maybe the reason you feel like an outcast isn’t your politics, per se… I’m just sayin’…
I applaud Mark for speaking with the mouthpiece that is the bane of Asheville–progressive twits as represented in the sputum of these blog-pages. Not the paper, not the medium, just the self-professed, sexual-intellectuals (F’n know-it-alls) He is the ONLY candidate with a plan to PROGRESS our fair city to greater prosperity.
If Barry and “Jake” don’t like it, it’s likely a good thing. I understand there is a “Meet and Greet” with Mark this Sunday at 21 Battery Park Ave and open to all. If anyone has a question for Mark it would be an excellent opportunity to present said question rather than snipe from the anonymous confines here.
Again, please come and meet Mark, ask questions, be bold, don’t dweeb out.
Sunday, 25 Sep, 21 Battery Park Ave.
Good eats, cool beverages and intelligent conversation. After all, Mark is the ONLY candidate with an viable, realistic vision that includes ALL Asheville folks.
I dare you to present yourselves with any articulate alternative.
SUNDAY–25 SEP–3 to 5 p.m.
Bring your opinions and your questions. That’s what it’s all about.
Look for me, too. I’ll be very happy to entertain any concern you have.
I accept your dare and present four articulate alternatives: Chris Pelly, Lael Gray, Marc Hunt and Saul Chase.
Mr. Cates is a dissembler, and for that reason the very last candidate I’d vote for in the primary.
“If anyone has a question for Mark it would be an excellent opportunity to present said question rather than snipe from the anonymous confines here.”
A) I’ve already met Mr. Cates, at the LWV Meet & Greet.
B) I am not anonymous – that is my full name, and my actual retina for identification. Nice criticism, Mr. ‘reasonable’ (if that is your real name…)
C) I don’t have any questions for Mr. Cates. His public statements tell me everything I need to know about him. And I think the fact that he considers the majority of City residents to be the ‘enemy’, well, I think that tells us everything we need to know about his political chances.
“rather than snipe from the anonymous confines here.”
So your name is ‘reasonable’?
Oh, one thing (possibly more, editorially) Mr. Frankel, Mark knows it is the “Silicon valley” and not the “Silicone valley” as you quoted him. Shame on on you.
Response?
Hi reasonable, the misspelling of “Silicon” was our error, and we appreciate you catching the typo. I corrected it in the story. Thanks.
A few anecdotes claiming bumper stickers, yard signs and such were trashed becomes “retaliation?” That should go a long way towards bi-partisan bridge-building alright.
More high paying jobs will result in more affordable housing? In places I’ve lived in the past, as jobs increased and the average compensation levels rose, housing became more costly. It would be great to see more jobs, higher pay and an increase in affordable housing flow from that.
More Kool-Aid, please.
Thank you, Mr. Frankel. I sincerely hope to see you this Sunday.
Does Mr. Cates have any political experience, whether holding office or some other organizational experience?
Asheville is full of folks of all stripes and colors. The vast majority of the major demographics in Asheville have been virulently attacked by both the fringe and the mainstream of the Republican party at one time or another in our past. The Republican party has made no moves to ameliorate these past injustices or even admit that they were wrong in attacking these folks. If Mr. Cates is truly interested in creating bi-partisan progress, especially in a city like Asheville, then he needs to address these issues and differentiate himself from the mainstream of his party which has been a cesspool of hate (if you will) for the past 50 years or more. Otherwise it seems to me his desire to “strike a blow from inside” means he wants to couch himself in palatable terms in order to get elected, whereupon he’ll reveal himself to be a run-of-the-mill Republican who wishes to deny basic rights to several of his fellow citizens based on their religion, sexuality, race, or economic class. Frankly this strikes me as either a very naive campaign or a very simple-minded attempt at deception. Bringing big business to Asheville will not solve our problems, it will only make them worse, as is plain to see from countless other historical examples. Yet, this seems to be Mr. Cates answer to everything, as is typical of members of his party. Please excuse my while I chuckle when he claims to be “different”.
For what it’s worth, I’ve fished my Chris Pelly yard sign out of the trash for the second time this morning. I’m used to it though, got a lot of practice fishing the Obama sign out of the trash in ’08.
I don’t think you can really make the case you’re being bullied when your fellow travelers are Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, etc., and your party’s presidential candidate debates include such memorable applause lines as “let them die.”
Your answer to public housing for the homeless was weak … higher paying jobs was your answer.
Tell me how that is going to house the homeless?
We need more funding for the homeless and more public housing! Homeless people cannot get good paying jobs.
OK, I actually do have a question: What was/is Mr. Cates involvement with the Asheville Tea Party? They seem very excited about his candidacy…
Google search for Mark Cates + teaparty gives these results:
http://www.google.com/search?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=1G1GGLQ_ENUS239&q=mark+cates+asheville+tea+party&oq=mark+cates+asheville+tea+party&aq=f&aqi;=&aql;=&gs_sm=e&gs_upl=70l4457l0l7335l16l16l0l15l15l0l290l290l2-1l1l0
An easy search shows Mr. Cates is clearly aligned with the local Tea Party; they’ve been calling for volunteers for his campaign for some time now, and feature him prominently on their website:
http://ashevilleteapac.org/?page_id=418
It would seem a bit puzzling that he failed to mention his close affiliation with the Tea Party in interviews, until one considers that (1) Tea Party types have lost a massive amount of support in recent months, as the public actually pays attention to their half-baked, radical views. I wonder if Mr. Cates cheered with the other Tea Partiers when the U.S. economy was downgraded by S & P, or if he shared the views expressed at a recent GOP debate when an admitted gay career military vet was booed by the crowd?
It seems he’s trying to be low-key about his involvement with these whack jobs.
As recently as 9 months ago, Mark Cates was the Treasurer for the Asheville Tea Party, and his campaign manager, Matthew Hoagland has also been active in the Tea Party.
A year ago he wrote a letter to the Daily Planet and signed it as the Tea Pac bookkeeper.
http://www.ashevilledailyplanet.com/index.php/Opinion/Letters-December-2010.html
There is a long thread of comments on a different ‘Mark Cates’ article – I don’t know, did this get split up because of the new website? I don’t know, but I think it’s worth a look. I was apparently incorrect when I said that Matt Hoagland is Mr. Cates campaign manager; it seems that is now Fritz Chaleff, a former Communication Director for a Republican Congressman in Washington DC who has recently moved to Asheville to spin for Mark Cates. Let’s see if this link works:
http://old.mountainx.com/news/2011/092811mark-cates#.ToTjx-xENaU
According to his web site Cates has lived in Asheville since 2004, yet the NC Board of Elections indicates that he did not vote in any of the three Asheville City Council elections since then.
Cates campaign treasurer, David King, is also running for County Commissioner.
http://www.mountainx.com/article/4729/And-hes-off-Republican-David-King-starts-commissioners-race
Cates campaign treasurer, David King, is also running for County Commissioner.
http://www.mountainx.com/article/4729/And-hes-off-Republican-David-King-starts-commissioners-race