I’d like to urge my neighbors to consider Adrian [Vassallo] for our City Council. Being an accountant is perhaps not the most glamorous background among those vying to lead our city, but it does have one very important aspect: accountability.
I’ve known Adrian for several years, and I can tell you that his word is his bond. Adrian will give you the straight talk, even at the risk of disappointing you. He does not have a partisan ax to grind; he seeks only feasible solutions.
If you’re feeling that Council is not being responsive to the needs of its citizens, then you should vote for Adrian Vassallo for City Council. Even if you decide to not vote for Adrian, please vote. Our city’s future is at stake.
— Jon King Asheville
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4 thoughts on “Letter: Vassallo seeks feasible solutions”
bsummers
Adrian will give you the straight talk, even at the risk of disappointing you.
Mission accomplished. Vassallo, hotel owner Pratik Bhakta, and commercial realtor Jeremy Goldstein are the only ones out of the entire Council/Mayor group of candidates who don’t think the Tourism Development Authority should contribute more to help the City with the flood of tourists blowing through Asheville. The TDA gets tens of millions of State-mandated tax dollars to play with, and after paying themselves generous salaries, they spend all the rest on attracting ever more tourists to town. If they chose to, they could divert some of it to help Asheville taxpayers with the ever-blossoming impact all those tourists place on City services and infrastructure. But no – Vassallo, Bhakta, and Goldstein apparently think those costs should be borne solely by Asheville residents, not the tourists or the tourism industry that is profiting from them.
Lulz
LOL but how many are opposed to STRs which would COMPETE with the hotels? And their license fees and taxes COULD go towards improvements. And all of the buffoons running are in agreement about that.
bsummers
So you support Cecil Bothwell and Dee Williams? According to the XPress questionnaire, they’re the two who say the City should ease restrictions on STRs.
The TDA debate is “Should tax dollars paid by tourists go towards the costs associated with them being here, or should those dollars simply be handed back over to the hotel owners to attract more tourists, regardless of the cost to taxpayers?”
The STR issue is way more complex than that, involving changing the nature of residential neighborhoods, driving up housing costs, taking permanent residential housing off the market, etc.
Apples & oranges. Nice attempt at misdirecting the criticism away from the hotel-friendly three, though.
John Penley
So far I have not seen any candidate specifically mention that they will do something to honor the City’s pledge to end Veteran’s Homelessness. How about doing it ?
Adrian will give you the straight talk, even at the risk of disappointing you.
Mission accomplished. Vassallo, hotel owner Pratik Bhakta, and commercial realtor Jeremy Goldstein are the only ones out of the entire Council/Mayor group of candidates who don’t think the Tourism Development Authority should contribute more to help the City with the flood of tourists blowing through Asheville. The TDA gets tens of millions of State-mandated tax dollars to play with, and after paying themselves generous salaries, they spend all the rest on attracting ever more tourists to town. If they chose to, they could divert some of it to help Asheville taxpayers with the ever-blossoming impact all those tourists place on City services and infrastructure. But no – Vassallo, Bhakta, and Goldstein apparently think those costs should be borne solely by Asheville residents, not the tourists or the tourism industry that is profiting from them.
LOL but how many are opposed to STRs which would COMPETE with the hotels? And their license fees and taxes COULD go towards improvements. And all of the buffoons running are in agreement about that.
So you support Cecil Bothwell and Dee Williams? According to the XPress questionnaire, they’re the two who say the City should ease restrictions on STRs.
The TDA debate is “Should tax dollars paid by tourists go towards the costs associated with them being here, or should those dollars simply be handed back over to the hotel owners to attract more tourists, regardless of the cost to taxpayers?”
The STR issue is way more complex than that, involving changing the nature of residential neighborhoods, driving up housing costs, taking permanent residential housing off the market, etc.
Apples & oranges. Nice attempt at misdirecting the criticism away from the hotel-friendly three, though.
So far I have not seen any candidate specifically mention that they will do something to honor the City’s pledge to end Veteran’s Homelessness. How about doing it ?