Filing period for local elections opens on Monday

Posted on by Jason Sandford

The local political season will officially open at 8 a.m. on Monday with the start of the candidate filing period for people seeking seats on Asheville City Council and a host of other local town boards.

Candidates place their paperwork with the Buncombe County Board of Elections, and the filing period remains open until noon on July 17. Here are other key dates:

• Sept. 11: Deadline to register to vote in primary election
• Oct. 6: Primary election
• Oct. 9: Deadline to register to vote in general election
• Nov. 3: General election

The race for Asheville City Council will be the most high-profile contest. Mayor Terry Bellamy is seeking re-election to another four-year term. Three council incumbents have seats up for election. City Councilmen Carl Mumpower and Kelly Miller have declared their intentions to run again, while Councilwoman Robin Cape has said she won’t seek re-election. No challenger to Bellamy has come forward publicly.

Mumpower, who last year launched an unsuccessful bid for the U.S. Congress seat held by Rep. Heath Shuler, has said he’ll seek another council term, but he hasn’t held any campaign events yet. Miller was appointed to council in December to fill the seat left vacant by Holly Jones, who won election to the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners. Miller, an Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce executive, recently held a kickoff party to start his campaign.

Meantime, several other candidates have been actively campaigning. Writer and former Mountain Xpress editor and reporter Cecil Bothwell, who ran unsuccessfully for the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners, has been on the campaign trail, as has newcomer Gordon Smith, a counselor with Looking Glass Center for Counseling and Psychiatry. Smith is making his first bid for public office.

Jen Bowen, a photographer, and Esther Manheimer, an attorney with the Van Winkle law firm, are both making their first runs for public office. So is J. Neal Jackson, a businessman who runs a convenience store on Eagle Street.

Go to the Buncombe County Board of Elections Web site for more information about the upcoming elections.

— Jason Sandford, multimedia editor

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.

One thought on “Filing period for local elections opens on Monday”

Leave a Reply

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.