Letter: Williams will get results that Asheville needs

Graphic by Lori Deaton

I have worked with Dee Williams on various local issues like business economics, social justice and community development for over a year.

Dee not only accepts but embraces the most difficult challenges that exist in our community. She is a critical thinker and is willing to break problems down to look at the smallest details in order to find a solution.

Dee is an incredibly dedicated community member and makes a sincere effort to show up to every meaningful dialogue that the community holds. Her experience in finance and entrepreneurialism is extensive through her business experience, and her creativity is evident in her proposals to improve our community.

Dee has worked hard to identify specific policies that will work for our community of Asheville. Dee will create living-wage jobs here in Asheville by revising the city’s procurement process to encourage city staff to seek out and contract with more Asheville-based companies.

Dee will ask hotels and developers to pay their fair share by revising the hotel tax code and ensuring that developers create permanently affordable housing in sufficient quantity moving forward.

Dee will keep rents affordable with a freeze on property taxes, as homeowners often pass those tax increases on to their tenants.

Asheville is a beautiful, unique town. But it is becoming an area marked by an unsustainable tourism economy and an affordable housing crisis. Increased tourism will not bail us out. Only improving the way we support locals and local businesses will help.

Dee Williams, an Asheville native, understands this and is ready to change Asheville for the better.

I encourage voters to consider Dee Williams when you are choosing your City Council candidates.

Dee shows up, puts in the time and does the work. She will get the results that our city needs right now.

— Jesse Michel
Asheville

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6 thoughts on “Letter: Williams will get results that Asheville needs

  1. NFB

    “Dee will ask hotels and developers to pay their fair share by revising the hotel tax code ”

    And why will she have any better results than all the others who have “asked” for this? Only the NC legislature can change this law and it will not do so until the hotel industry changes its long time and fierce opposition to any such change.

    • bsummers

      Yeah, I really wish people would stop spreading the misinformation that Council can just wave a magic wand and change state law.

      • NFB

        Paging Mr. McKibbon and his “promise” to work for getting some TDA money to the city if his plans for the BB&T building were approved.

        • Lulz

          LOL good luck with that. He also promised to lease to locally owned businesses on the ground floor. As if they’ll be able to afford the 20K per a month rents.

          I called it way before the BB&T building even started to be demolished. McKibbon will end up with a high rent building centrally located and the only locals in there will be the employees.

      • Lulz

        LOL but they can control what gets built and what doesn’t can they not? You continually use state law when it benefits you and of course will go to court when it doesn’t. How funny.

        • luther blissett

          You really believe that the city could sue and win over the Buncombe TDA law, defend a suit if it chose not to comply with its terms, or that it should have conceded on the water system or the Embassy Suites or the Peterson/Bach bond suit? Yes or no answers, please.

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