Administrators from local social media groups talk about the challenges inherent in their freewheeling, ongoing public conversations. Opinions vary on how much that rough-and-tumble interferes with achieving posters’ goals.

Administrators from local social media groups talk about the challenges inherent in their freewheeling, ongoing public conversations. Opinions vary on how much that rough-and-tumble interferes with achieving posters’ goals.
“It speaks volumes to the possibility of a true healing in our emotionally challenged times.”
Valiant community crusader or outlandish provocateur? Xpress reviews Chad Nesbitt’s long and colorful history in Buncombe County politics.
A changing climate, aging infrastructure and rapid rates of development are contributing to a rising tide of stormwater problems in Asheville. But responsibility for stormwater infrastructure often rests with private property owners, complicating the process of planning and paying for fixes.
City-sponsored early polling indicated that a solid majority of Asheville voters say they will vote for the proposed $74 million city bond referendum on this year’s general election ballots, and far more local groups and organizations have lined up to support the bond than to criticize it. As with any issue, however, opinion is mixed.
On Monday, May 16, Commissioner DeBruhl sent an email stating she would be vacating her seat on the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners and also dropping out of her race for Chair.
On Saturday, April 2, supporters and opponents of the recently-passed North Carolina legislation House Bill 2 demonstrated in Asheville’s Pack Square. The new law overturns a Charlotte ordinance that would have allowed people to use the bathroom that corresponds to their gender identity rather than the sex that matches their birth certificate. It also prevents other municipalities from passing similar ordinances to Charlotte’s, and it limits legal recourse for those who believe they have experienced discrimination based on race, religion, color, national origin, age, sex or disability.
While only one Buncombe County commission seat was actually decided in last night’s primary, in all the races where a woman was running, she was selected by her party.
Chad Nesbitt’s 2016 primary voter guide profile.
With Don Yelton’s controversial remarks on the Daily Show making national news, here’s some context about local right-wing activism. In 2007, Xpress profiled the Carolina Stompers, a local hardline conservative activist group including Yelton and then-future Buncombe GOP Chair Chad Nesbitt, known for flamboyant tactics and its promises to “stomp” liberalism.
In the wake of the recent primary elections, tensions continue to mount among different factions of the Buncombe County Republican Party.
On Saturday morning, Oct. 22, Chad Nesbitt and a friend drove an extra-large street-sweeper style truck in circles around the Occupy Asheville campsite while blowing what amounted to an air or boat horn. He did this as a form of protest, but in truth it was a form of harassment. He did this to veterans, […]
Former Buncombe County Republican Party chair Chad Nesbitt announced today on WWNC radio’s “The Matt Mittan Show” that he’s planning an Aug. 28 rally in downtown Asheville to protest the Aug. 21 GoTopless rally. He said the demonstration will be held at 2 p.m. in Pack Square Park and invited the public to attend.
A look at what’s been making headlines.
Former Buncombe County Republican chair Chad Nesbitt says his attorneys may soon contact Paul Van Heden; Nesbitt claims the Asheville resident ran a Twitter account, @chadnesbitt, that resulted in the U.S. Secret Service investigating possible threats against Pres. Bill Clinton last year.
(On the left is the real Chad Nesbitt. On the right is an image from the fake @chadnesbitt’s Twitter account.)
In this week’s Local Matters podcast, Xpress News Editor Margaret Williams talks to reporter Jake Frankel about the election of Henry Mitchell as the new head of the Buncombe County Republican Party.
Today, March, 26, a divided Buncombe County Republican party elected Henry Mitchell to be its new chair.
Photos by Jerry Nelson