Asheville City Council elections, as reported on Twitter

“Manheimer gets the bear vote: Four bears currently eating candy she left on her front porch in north Asheville,” @edgymama reported via Twitter on Oct. 31, in an early election report.

“Don’t Vote, Don’t Complain,” tweeted @h0zae, who added, “11.16% of Asheville Voted in the Primary? In other words 11.16% of the people in Asheville make all the decisions for you.” @h0zae also wondered, “In other news… why do business owners within city limits NOT have a vote in Asheville? Are there places where biz gets a vote?”

Nov. 3, Election day:
@itswendylou: good morning and happy voting day. Get out there and vote, people! Asheville peeps, if you’re not sick/in crisis mode, you’ve got no excuse — I’ll be your poll-place taxi 6:18 am

@drewreisinger: Only 23 people have voted at the Board of Elections today. Not cool precinct 20, not cool. early morning

@jonelliston: Just became 54th person to vote at Stephens Lee today. 11:35 am

@DavidForbes: Just voted. I was the 79th person to cast their ballot at the Stephens-Lee Center today. 12:44 pm

@KeeverCampaign: The BOE will live-stream election updates after polls close http://www.buncombecounty.org/governing/depts/Election/ElectionResults.htm 1:18 pm

@moonbird: Apparent confusion at polls today regarding voting districts & I’m one of ‘em. Off to another polling place after PT.

@mountainxpress: Unusual sight at polls today: campaign signs urging people to write in Bruce Johnston for AVL City Council. He was a candidate in ‘07. 5:11 pm

@drewreisinger: By 2pm, 7,065 people had voted

@themadteaparty: We were voters 178 and 179 in Montford. 5:15 pm


@ssspoonah: twitpic.com/o69nz – that might be my favorite sticker ever.

@mountainxpress: Xpress will cover election results from all over town, but please join us at our mobile campaign-reporting hub, The Rankin Vault.

@mountainxpress: Want to party with AVL City Council candidates? Robin Cape @ Jack of the Wood; Gordon Smith @ Westville Pub; Cecil Bothwell will be at Three Brothers Restaurant; Esther Manheimer @ Battery Park Champagne Bar tonight.

@mountainxpress: Carl Mumpower told me he’ll be shopping TJ Maxx and eating at Chick-fil-A with his wife tonight.

@mountainxpress: Not sure where Mayor Terry Bellamy will be tonight; nor do I know where Ryan Croft, Robert Edwards and J. Neal Jackson will be.

@blogasheville Election Day musical inspiration from the Mad Tea Party:http://jennybowen.com/temp/Mad%20Tea%20Party%20-%20Baby%20Its%20Time%20to%20Vote.mp3 5:56 pm

@stacey_C_: Waiting in line to vote. #avlvote twitpic.com/o6aa8

@coffeehousejunk, 1 pm: I was voter 78 from southside. … Done! twitpic.com/o6awc

@jenbowen: As best I can tell, busiest East-Side precinct is #65 WD Williams Elmtry. Two Lines out the door. Folks are passionate on incorporation. 6:27 pm

@ashevillein: 6pm Voter number 218 in a district with 1500 registered voters; that is pretty pathetic.

@drewreisinger: BOE says 9,303 people have voted by 4 pm (How does that compare with past turnout in off-year elections?)

@bpostelle: What about election night bands? Bothwell has Gas House Mouse.

@jonelliston: Polls close at 7:30 p.m. in Asheville election. Results and reports from candidate events at bit.ly/O1gRW as they come in.

@ssspoonah: Women have had the right [to vote in the US] for only 89 years. There really isn’t a better feeling than voting.

@bpostelle: Few minutes left until polls close in . Note: Cape’s name not on Board of Elections site; her votes will be designated as “write-in” votes. Bunc. BOE says hand count will be needed to determine which write-in votes were for Cape. 7:29 pm

@bpostelle: No wireless at Bothwell’s party at Three Brothers. So keep the updates coming. 8:03 pm

@Thunderpig: (by percentages) Bothwell 19.48 Cape 14.79 Croft 5.77 Jackson 8.61 Mannheimer 19.74 Mumpower 11.78 Smith 19.83 8:06 pm

@SmithMillCreek: Asheville (12 out of 37 precincts in) So far, Gordon, Cecil and Esther each have 19%, Robin 4th at 15%. http://results.enr.clarityelections.com/NC/Buncombe/10963/18873/en/summary.html 8:09 pm

@davidForbes: With 29 of 37 precincts reporting, Mayor Terry Bellamy has 79% of the vote and looks poised to win a second term. 8:20 pm

@Thunderpig: I hope Mumpower, Jackson, Croft and the other “Republicans” in Asheville realize the importance of raising $$$.


@bpostelle: Bothwell party on news of latest numbers. pic.gd/6400f0 bpostelle 8:21 pm

@mountainxpress: Early, partial returns are in from Buncombe Election Services: bit.ly/1Spr79 8:22 pm

@davidforbes: Council results so far: Manheimer 19.5 Smith 18.6 Bothwell 17.6 Write-in (mostly Cape) 13.8 Mumpower 13.5 Jackson 9.8 Croft 7 8:22 pm

@ThunderPig: (by %) Bothwell 17.65 Cape 13.82 Croft 7.08 Jackson 9.84 Mannheimer 19.50 Mumpower 13.51 Smith 18.60 22/37 8:37 pm

@DavidForbes: Swannanoa incorporation results, so far: Against 58.2, For 41.7 N8:38 pm

@ThunderPig: #wnc (by # of votes) Bellamy 6,662 Edwards 1,462 Shadmarsh 110 (by %) Bellamy 80.91 Edwards 17.76 Shamarsh 1.34 18/37 fobes Nov. 3, 8:38 pm

@myweaverville: With half of the precincts reporting, all of Weaverville’s unopposed candidates are winning. Shocking. 8:39 pm

@fobes: Follow Hendersonville, Fletcher, Mills River, Laurel Park & Flat Rock election results at bit.ly/1s4VNZ 8:41 pm

@jonelliston: Asheville election preliminary and partial results, with 28 of 37 precincts reported: bit.ly/1Spr79 8:49 pm

@bpostelle: Bothwell staying cautiously optimistic in 3rd. “I think we’re ok.” 8:51 pm

@mountainxpress: After hearing early numbers, Robin Cape not ready to “call it yet.” Far from it, she says 8:52 pm

@bpostelle: Bothwell making victory statements. Thanking campaign mngr Linda Brown. “We rocked this city tonight.” 8:56 pm

@mountainxpress: Asheville election partial results, with 32 of 37 precincts reported: bit.ly/1Spr79 8:59 pm

@mountainxpress: It was just three cheers for esther manheimer at the battery park book exchange. Manheimer thanked her supporters, said she was happy with the slate elected tonight. 9:05 pm

@bpostelle: Cape singing “I Feel Lucky” and “Summertime in the City.” Tells Xpress that whatever the results, she’s already won. Brownie Newman showed up to congradulate Bothwell. 9:15 pm

@mountainxpress: carl mumpower’s office is closed, locked. lights are out. 9:21 pm

@DavidForbes: Terry Bellamy just gave her victory speech before a crowd of supporters at her South Asheville headquarters. 9:26 pm

@mountainxpress: Swannanoa says no to incorporation http://www.mountainx.com/news/2009/swannanoa_says_no_to_incorporation 9:26 pm

@mountainxpress: time to look ahead. winners tonight will be sworn into office in december.

@bpostelle: Smith on stage at Westville giving victory speech. 9:27 pm

@davidforbes: In her 2nd term, Bellamy said, she would work on finishing repairs to the water system and implementing Asheville’s master plans. “Asheville’s good at starting things: I want to finish.” Bellamy also touted her county, state and federal connections: “We have a governor who knows who the mayor of Asheville is.” With 36 of 37 precincts reporting, Bellamy’s won in a landslide. 78.5% of the vote vs. Robert Edward’s 20%  9:32 pm

@Thunderpig: 6 out of 37 precincts in Asheville had lass than 5% voter turnout. Only 1 in 37 had more than 40% turnout.

@DavidForbes: The drive for Swannanoa’s incorporation has been decisively defeated, 61% voted against, 38.9% for. 9:50 pm

@Xpress: time to look ahead. winners tonight will be sworn into office in december. fobes Nov. 3, 9:55 pm

@DavidForbes: Amid exuberant supporters and flowing champagne, 1st place council finisher Esther Manheimer says the new council has “a mandate.” “This is terribly exciting. Though voter turnout was low, I think the voters are a true reflection of Asheville.” Manheimer says adopting Asheville’s multiple master plans will be her top priority: “Those plans are the will of the people.” Manheimer added that she will focus on implementing the Downtown Master Plan. Read the plan here: bit.ly/Mlloc.  9:57 pm

@RussBowenNews13: Mumpower out. Cape out. Mumpower responds at 10 on MY40

@aaronsarver:All write-in votes not for Cape. One other write-in candidate registerd & campaigned. Plus Santa etc always get votes 10:04 pm

@DavidForbes: Voter turnout is at 19.49%. 10:05 pm

@davidforbes: Manheimer did well in North and East Asheville, Bothwell and Smith saw high support in the center and west of the city.

@myweaverville: All precincts reporting: Al Root new Weaverville Mayor; Dottie Sherrill re-elected & Doug Dearth newly elected to Town Council. 10:09 pm

@davidforbes: Mumpower did well in parts of South, East and W. Asheville, but not enough to get the outspoken council member a 3rd term.

@MargaretWiliams reports: With write-ins at 5th, Cape concedes, thanks supporters and says, “Without risk, you don’t win.” 10:12 pm

@thunderpig: Asheville Election Factoid: Registered Voters: 88,229 Ballots Cast: 17,197 Voter Turnout: 19.49 %.
@edgymama: It’s Manheimer, Smith and Bothwell to AVL City Council. Tks, in advance, for representing me! 10:40 pm

@WLOS_ABC13: Swannanoa Rejects Incorporation: After a bitter battle, Swannanoa residents reject…. bit.ly/48M4Jy 11:32 pm

@ashevillein: brownie and holly come a-callin on gordon smith last night at the westville pub http://www.flickr.com/photos/ashevillein/4075007180/ And Drew says I don’t care if you are a city councilman or the president, ya gotta pay for that scotch, brother. flic.kr/p/7d2CNx

Nov. 4, the day after election:

@Thunderpig: Asheville 2009 Municipal Election Results and Commentary at http://thunderpigblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/asheville-2009-municipal-election.html 6:46 am

@Thunderpig: Early Voting (% of total #) Bothwell 28.70 Smith 25.68 Mannheimer 24.21 Mumpower 17.16 Jackson 15.19 Croft 14.06
9:18 am

@mountainxpress: “The progressive community won’t have to deal with me on council anymore.” But the progressive community in Asheville “will get very little rest from me otherwise,” Carl Mumpower says in interview today.

@mountainxpress: The new City Council — what does it all mean? Discussion in the Xpress Forums: http://www.mountainx.com/forums/viewthread/2478/

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About Jeff Fobes
As a long-time proponent of media for social change, my early activities included coordinating the creation of a small community FM radio station to serve a poor section of St. Louis, Mo. In the 1980s I served as the editor of the "futurist" newsletter of the U.S. Association for the Club of Rome, a professional/academic group with a global focus and a mandate to act locally. During that time, I was impressed by a journalism experiment in Mississippi, in which a newspaper reporter spent a year in a small town covering how global activities impacted local events (e.g., literacy programs in Asia drove up the price of pulpwood; soybean demand in China impacted local soybean prices). Taking a cue from the Mississippi journalism experiment, I offered to help the local Green Party in western North Carolina start its own newspaper, which published under the name Green Line. Eventually the local party turned Green Line over to me, giving Asheville-area readers an independent, locally focused news source that was driven by global concerns. Over the years the monthly grew, until it morphed into the weekly Mountain Xpress in 1994. I've been its publisher since the beginning. Mountain Xpress' mission is to promote grassroots democracy (of any political persuasion) by serving the area's most active, thoughtful readers. Consider Xpress as an experiment to see if such a media operation can promote a healthy, democratic and wise community. In addition to print, today's rapidly evolving Web technosphere offers a grand opportunity to see how an interactive global information network impacts a local community when the network includes a locally focused media outlet whose aim is promote thoughtful citizen activism. Follow me @fobes

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