Asheville Council member Bill Russell will run for re-election

Asheville City Council member Bill Russell tells Xpress he will run for a second term. Russell is the first incumbent in this cycle to announce he’s running for re-election. Filing begins today at noon.

“I love my work and I’d like to continue for another four years, I feel compelled to do this again,” Russell says, adding that he’ll focus on “non-partisan, respectful communication, that’s an overlying topic.”

Russell, along with Council member Jan Davis and Vice Mayor Brownie Newman had remained publicly undecided on another run. He says he made the decision this Tuesday. Russell’s main priority, if re-elected, will be “the continuation of good, sound financial management. We’ve done pretty well for the last four years, dropping our total operating budget since 2008.”

He also says he wants to do more on jobs growth, citing the Linamar deal as an example, noting “we may rethink our strategies on how we attract employers.”

Russell has hired former Xpress writer Michael Muller as his campaign manager. Filing for this year’s Council elections begins today, July 1 and lasts until July 15. Russell says he’ll file today. Council candidate Marc Hunt has also announced that he will file today.

— David Forbes, senior news reporter

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5 thoughts on “Asheville Council member Bill Russell will run for re-election

  1. Paul -V-

    He hired Muller? Smart move.

    Muller is the kind of guy you hire, then take a nap knowing that he’ll wake you up in time for the victory parade.

    – pvh

  2. Jim Shura

    What’s really too bad about Muller is that he can only focus on one reasonable person per election.

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