I support John Miall because Asheville needs practical, centrist City Council members who understand the need to get things done, things that need to be done without a lot of bureaucracy and in logical priority order. We need to fix our infrastructure before spending millions on aesthetics, important to the health of any community, but “needs” first, “wants,” second: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, if you will.
Putting residents first citywide with sidewalks, streetlights, crosswalks, traffic signals, enough police and firefighters, water/sewerage, trash collection/recycling, addressing empty buildings, helping business startups and so much more should not be a popularity contest. If these basics are not addressed in a practical, planful way, our city will lose its appeal for residents and tourists.
Either/or decisions are not required in planning for community needs. For example, why not consider a low-profile nonhotel revenue source and an appropriate aesthetically pleasing green space across from the Basilica of St. Lawrence?
“Take Asheville Back” reflects my hope for a time when our taxes were sufficient to get things done, police the streets, put out the fires, pave the streets and pick up the trash without biennial tax increases and endless fees. We need a Council that can live within taxpayers’ means. Vote John Miall for Asheville City Council. Thank you.
— Christopher Pratt
Asheville
LOL, there are no centrist here. And people aren’t raising a stink on taxes to the point where council notices because those moving here BUYING houses can afford to dump even more into them remodeling or even a completely demolition. I find it hilarious in these neighborhoods that many have Bernie Sanders signs in their yards. So you know if they can afford to support a full blown socialist who wants to add another 18 trillion to the debt over 10 years and raise taxes revenue totals another 10 trillion in the same time frame, they can afford property tax hikes here.
Gentrification is in full swing here. And the farce that is local government is the reason for it.
I had high hopes that the supposedly “liberal” media’s love affair with Carl Mumpower might end once he lost the 2008 congressional election to a cardboard cutout.
Last week the Mountain Xpress ran a letter from a 25 year old who is supporting Carl in his current bid for public office. I was surprised that a young person would have such a glowing opinion of a person with views as retrograde as Carl’s. One of Carl’s past shenanigans was ghost writing a letter on behalf of an enthusiastically conservative but less than articulate young man and I wondered if this might be a similar situation, so I Googled the letter writer’s name. It turns out that Tim Elkin is a co-founder of the Mountain Area Citizens PAC and a conservative activist. The Mountain Xpress letters editor chose not to provide readers with this important piece of information.
As the Xpress Opinion editor, I didn’t happen to have that information, so it’s incorrect to say that I chose not to provide it. But if true, I’m not sure whether that would have warranted an editor’s note, since I’m sure many letter writers have various political affiliations and activities.
I also didn’t have the information. That is why we have Google.
If the affiliations of your letter writers aren’t relevant, perhaps you could save yourself some work and simply print campaign press releases rather than letters.
It’s kinda like that climate-denier’s letter that got posted here a few weeks ago. A simple Google search of the text in that letter (or even the guy’s name) would have revealed the exact same letter being sent to (and published by) papers all over the country, along with the FUD-spreading activist organization he represents.
I gave high consideration to John Miall when I first started researching the candidates a few weeks ago, in large part for some of the reasons the letter writer suggests. After hearing an interview with him on a local radio show and hearing him talk about the need to work together to find “common ground” that consideration increased.
Then a week or two later came the yard signs with the slogan “take Asheville back.” It’s a slogan that sounds angry and confrontational and it reminded me of the bluster and dismissive tone he displayed that resulted in me voting for Esther Manheimer when Miall ran against her for mayor two years ago.
The right wing Tribune paper is coming out for Miall, running him on a slate with Dee Williams and Carl Mumpower, in an op-ed attacking “progressives” and featuring Tim Peck.
Yep.
Interesting that they are supporting Williams a self described “community organizer” and “social justice advocate,” since we all know how the right feels about those, LOL.
Then again anyone who remembers some of her antics with the Opportunity Corporation several years ago shouldn’t be surprised. Those antics alone are enough reason not to vote for her.
I actually agree with those who say that Council might be better served by having more or a range of viewpoints. Unfortunately those who are making that case in their campaigns make it too difficult for me to vote for.
Agreed. “Take back Asheville” is a highly polarizing slogan.
The Asheville city council is going to get more “progressive” as will the Buncombe county commissioners. It’s all about the demographics – Asheville long ago became a mecca for the most radical, secular progressives. Just look at all the people in this city still driving around with Obama stickers all over their dinky hybrid cars. And now they’ve got more Bernie stickers than they do Hillary (save for the radical feminists). Now that Asheville has been completely taken over by these narrow-minded, intolerant people, we’re seeing their fellow comrades who can’t find housing in or can’t afford Asheville moving into Buncombe County – the election results from the 2014 race was proof of that! Anyway, if you’re not a “progressive” my advice to you is to move out of Asheville and even Buncombe County. Your tax dollars deserve to be elsewhere where elected official have common sense.
Take Back Asheville (from the evil progressives) is an EXCELLENT MESSAGE and ONE to be TRUMPETED as loudly as possible!
Asheville suffers DECADES of INEPT progressive non leaders who TAX and SPEND and give away MILLIONS to art museums and shite…Dont EVER vote for one of these filthy lieberals again !!!
Hillary for PRISON 2016!
You are going to be one sad little conservative come November, 2016…
Now that AVL will suffer a FULL SLATE of City Council high taxing progressives, NOW is the time for ALL AVL landlords to
plan to double and triple their rates of RENT INCREASES to combat the coming onslaught of more taxation and fees that will
be mandated by this evil bunch! So yeah, haunted, higher RENTS will help me and all landlords ‘feel’ better! lolol>>>>