Former state Rep. Bruce Goforth who lost to current Rep. Patsy Keever in last year’s Democratic primary, has changed his registration to Unaffiliated and taken a job with Speaker Thom Tillis, a Republican, as an adviser on jobs and the economy.
![](https://mountainx.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/GoforthShot_thumb.jpg)
Former state Rep. Bruce Goforth who lost to current Rep. Patsy Keever in last year’s Democratic primary, has changed his registration to Unaffiliated and taken a job with Speaker Thom Tillis, a Republican, as an adviser on jobs and the economy.
Today, March, 26, a divided Buncombe County Republican party elected Henry Mitchell to be its new chair.
Photos by Jerry Nelson
So the Republicans are back in control of the North Carolina General Assembly and immediately they began to speak in code. The most egregious local example was an interview in the Jan.19 Mountain Xpress, "Front Row Seats: A New Start for N.C.'s Grand Old Party.” Former Buncombe Republican chair Bill Keller's first advice to the […]
In your Jan. 19 [article] “Front Row Seats,” I read about [former GOP chairman] George Keller. I was astounded by his top two priorities: To require photo identification for voting and to work on redistricting. He stated he was embarrassed about “the division of this state.” I agree he should be embarrassed, but the embarrassment […]
It was a bad week for the Buncombe County Republican Party. The party and its chairman, Chad Nesbitt, were harshly criticized for a 9/11 fundraiser and an associated video; the Board of Elections found their highly publicized complaints over an early voting site to be based on faulty information; and Asheville City Councilman Bill Russell left the party, citing its “antics that demonize people” and “political games.”
Facing controversy over a domestic violence conviction involving his ex-wife during his successful 2009 bid for vice chair of the North Carolina Republican Party, then-Buncombe GOP Chair Tim Johnson produced a statement, supposedly from her, supporting his candidacy. Now, she says she never wrote that endorsement, or had any knowledge of it until after his election.
Early this morning, local Twitterer WNCGOP began his day with a terse politically and sociologically charged one-liner: WNCGOP: “Good morning everyone. It’s raining here in Asheville, NC (which is a good thing, because it keeps down the stink of those damned hippies).” Here’s what happened in the ensuing hours of Twitter discussion: