A bill hurdling through the General Assembly [HB 471] will erase 220 years of Buncombe County tradition overnight, without the consent of the Buncombe County residents that it will affect.
People may have different opinions on Tim Moffitt's proposal to expand the Buncombe County board of commissioners and allow people fewer votes. In 2007, when Asheville tried to change the way elections were run, a referendum revealed the voters didn't want it. That's why I think there ought to be a referendum this time as well, so Buncombe voters can decide whether they want the change or not.
We don't need Raleigh telling us how we can vote for our local representation. Let Buncombe vote!
— Martha Julie Sherman
Asheville
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If the argument is that it is wrong to break 200 years of “tradition,” does that mean it was also wrong to break “tradition” to allow women to vote and to stop slavery? Now we in Buncome can have local represetatives truly representing the interests of taxpayers in the soon to be defined districts. Seems to me that liberal crybabies are more upset at losing their stranglehold on the county than caring about the rights of the taxpayers.
If this was something that so deeply affected the residents of Buncombe County, then why the end-run around the residents by taking it to the State House?
North Carolina is not a home rule state. If it were, we would decide these and many other matters locally.
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There were two different amendments offered to Rep. Moffitt’s bill. Rep. Keever tried to amend the bill to have a referendum allowing Buncombe citizens to vote on whether to change our system. Rep. Fisher suggested having districts but letting all County voters maintain their current right to vote for all our representatives.
artart – Non-Asheville voters outnumber Asheville voters 2-to-1. The “stranglehold” argument ignores this fact.
I find it interesting that Moffit rode to the state house on the idea that the people should get to decide how they are governed. Now that he’s in Raleigh, he apparently thinks he knows what’s best and that we should be dictated to from the State. What a hypocrite.
North Carolina is not a home rule state. If it were, we would decide these and many other matters locally.
That’s the point. Keever’s amendment would’ve allowed a referendum, and the Teapublicans killed it. They don’t believe in allowing us to decide this ourselves – this is a power grab, pure and simple.
All you “Let Buncombe Vote!” types who remained silent on this now that you’re in a position to ram through what you want (Don Yelton, I’m looking at you) or even openly supported this undemocratic power grab: we’ll remember.
The Tea Party, with a median age of At Death’s Door, does not have the votes to win elections. This thingie of Moffitt’s, along with a host of other thingies nationwide, is fundamentally anti-democratic. Democracy doesn’t work for you if only 22% of the electorate thinks (and I use the word loosely here) like you.