Letter writer: Smith’s vision for county includes living wages and affordable housing

Graphic by Lori Deaton

I am writing to show my support for Gordon Smith for Buncombe County commissioner.

Gordon Smith has been very supportive of the Asheville Small Home Advocacy Committee, an organization founded to make tiny homes more legally viable in the city, and we are making real progress. In the last few months, the City Council made it easier to build accessory dwelling units and is now discussing urban infill options.

Years ago, my partner and I embarked on a unique journey as we built our very own 120-square-foot home here in Western North Carolina. Our tiny home benefited us financially, professionally and personally. For that reason, Asheville SHAC was founded.

Our affordable housing crisis can’t be fixed by tiny homes alone, but they are a piece of the puzzle. I believe that anyone who works in Buncombe County, regardless of job title, should be able to afford to live here. That is why I will vote for Gordon Smith, whose vision for our county includes affordable housing and living wages.

Today, my partner and I blog and speak, in Asheville and around the country, about our tiny house experience. We are grateful for all of the opportunities we’ve had because we were able to think and live outside the box. We want to help others benefit from this lifestyle here in Buncombe County.

Please, make your voice heard in our primary election. Vote on March 15 for Gordon Smith!

— Laura M. LaVoie
Asheville

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11 thoughts on “Letter writer: Smith’s vision for county includes living wages and affordable housing

  1. Yep

    so, does this low information voter actually THINK that Buncombe Co commission will dictate living wages ? not a chance…

  2. boatrocker

    Oh sweet Jesus just wait for the Rayndian rage for you daring to write about not starving and being homeless.
    How dare you advocate for a full belly and a roof o’er your head? (Sarcasm, just in case that offends anyone’s ‘safe space’- ask your grandparents about sarcasm)

    Give it 2 days on this site and you will be painted as the welfare queen who eats bon bons while watching re-runs of “The Price is Right” while adopting Syrian toddlers to train as terrorists in the back room of your gay wedding cupcake restaurant.

    • Big Al

      Isn’t mentioning gays and cupcakes in the same sentence an intolerant slur?

      • boatrocker

        Sigh. Noooo, but thanks for the baiting opportunity, Saying a word in print does not make one a cross burning David Duke fan or a Kim Davis type. We all it’s about context in which a word is used, but of course that never stopped the Internets from exploding in a flurry of comments.

        I mentioned the cupcake thing as a reader will think “oh yeah, that awful excuse for ‘religious freedom’ thing that all those poor oppressed Christians whine about”.

        “Cupcakes were served as light refreshments after the crazy preacher with bullhorn who used to bug people at Bele Chere denounced the sinister gay agenda”. See, you can use both words in a sentence and not be a tool.

      • hauntedheadnc

        No, but please refrain from referring to me as “punkin,” and especially not as “puddin’ cheeks.” I hate those.

        • boatrocker

          Dude, anyone whose head is haunted has enough to worry about without me adding to their problems. I declare a baked goods moratorium on you-

          • hauntedheadnc

            But… but… I write horror novels! Baked goods are the only way I can get through the process of pouring the hauntings out of my head and onto the paper! Why ever would you be so cruel!

            You big meanie!

  3. Lulz

    LOL, you mean the same guy who refuses to answer questions after gloating online has a vision? Will he answer questions on that vision or will he just ignore the same people that he fleeces for fluff and bull? And you folks supporting this loon of course LOOK THE OTHER WAY.

    • mynameis

      For those not in the know, by “refuses to answer questions”, Lulz means that Gordon didn’t follw up to a question in a Mountain Xpress comments section. Seriously. That’s what Lulz is whining about. LOL.

  4. Hauntedheadnc

    I have no objection to Smith or his politics, but I am of the mind that if the incumbents were serious about living wages and affordable housing, they would have already done something about it other than talk it to death.

    • luther blissett

      It’s the old philosophical problem, isn’t it: are they powerless or indifferent? Experience suggests the former. A more honest argument would be ‘Gordon Smith has discovered how little power City Council actually wields; elect him to the County Commission so he can find out at first hand how it’s the same for that tier of government.’

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