City Council candidates meet voters at LWV forum

DSC00585

Seven of the eight candidates running for three Asheville City Council seats attended a meet-and-greet sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Asheville-Buncombe County this Tuesday, Sept. 20. The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan organization committed to voter education and civic participation. Asheville City Council candidates Mark Cates, Saul Chase, Jan Davis (the sole incumbent running for re-election), Lael Gray, Marc Hunt, Chris Pelly and TJ Thomasson attended the event, hosted in The Century Room of Pack’s Tavern. Candidate Tim Peck was unable to attend and current Council member Bill Russell withdrew from the race on September 9. About fifty to sixty people attended the event.

Leah Karpen, a former League of Women Voters president and current League of Women Voters member, explains, “The League of Women Voters hosts events like this meet-and-greet to provide the general public with the opportunity to interact with candidates one on one prior to the primary. The League [of Women Voters] is nonpartisan and does not support or oppose any candidate.”

Kent Wolff, a downtown Asheville resident, said of the event, “I thought it was extremely informative…it was good to have an opportunity to talk to candidates one on one and hear their detailed positions on the issues that matter to me the most.”

The League of Women Voters will also host a formal, moderated forum at the UNCA Reuter Center from 7-9 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 18. In addition, the League of Women Voters will host a moderated forum for the Weaverville Town Council candidates on Tuesday, Sept. 27 from 6:30-8 p.m. at the Weaverville Town Hall.

The City of Asheville primary election will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 11, and the general election and countywide referendum will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 8. One-stop early voting for the Asheville City Council primary election begins on Thursday, Sept. 22 and runs through Saturday, Oct. 8 at Election Services (35 Woodfin Street). During this “one-stop” voting period, voters may apply to register to vote and cast their ballots on the same day.

Karen Oelschlaeger is the Online Communications Director of the League of Women Voters of Asheville-Buncombe County

DSC00566

DSC00570

DSC00565

Photos by Davyne Dial

SHARE

Thanks for reading through to the end…

We share your inclination to get the whole story. For the past 25 years, Xpress has been committed to in-depth, balanced reporting about the greater Asheville area. We want everyone to have access to our stories. That’s a big part of why we've never charged for the paper or put up a paywall.

We’re pretty sure that you know journalism faces big challenges these days. Advertising no longer pays the whole cost. Media outlets around the country are asking their readers to chip in. Xpress needs help, too. We hope you’ll consider signing up to be a member of Xpress. For as little as $5 a month — the cost of a craft beer or kombucha — you can help keep local journalism strong. It only takes a moment.

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

5 thoughts on “City Council candidates meet voters at LWV forum

  1. JudyCath

    Great reporting, Karen, and the photos by Davyne Dial add to giving a feel for the event. Thanks!

  2. Unaffiliated Voter

    Let’s all work to outlaw ‘one stop voting’ and
    require advanced proper legal registration in one’s real district at that time. Also, let’s work to reduce early voting to only 2-3 days prior to ‘election’ day, or better yet over a weekend.

    • Barry Summers

      Good point. I’ll take it one further: let’s finally admit that we’ve screwed up over these past 200+ years, and the “social experiment” has failed. Let’s go back to basics: only white, male, Christian property owners get to vote.

Leave a Reply to Jake ×

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.