“Today, Asheville’s a tourist destination fueled by wealth-take-all capitalism beset with growing urban issues such as parking, pollution, land use, development, affordable housing, crime and allocation of tax revenues. Yet are all these intractable problems with only temporary solutions? Not really.”
“Our courts and not local politicians need to make the decisions as to whether submitted district voting maps are fair.”
Complete Democratic control of the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners, a better-than-expected performance by Jasmine Beach-Ferrara and $70 million in new spending for county initiatives all emerged from this year’s midterm election results.
In preparation for the 2022 general election of Tuesday, Nov. 8, Xpress sent questions to all candidates in contested local races representing Buncombe County voters. Responses from candidates for the N.C. General Assembly, Buncombe County-level races, Asheville city government and local school boards are all collected here.
General election candidates for the 2022 N.C. House races in Districts 114-116 share their positions with Xpress.
General election candidates for the 2022 N.C. Senate District 46 and District 49 races share their positions with Xpress.
“The bottom line is: Without higher salaries for educators, not only will our students suffer, but so will the entire community.”
From occupancy tax allocations and hemp production to private bar membership, state legislators voted on several measures that are consequential to WNC in their recently concluded short session.
“Yes, yes, yes. Legalize medicinal marijuana!”
Court rulings and state laws sometimes mean local governments can’t adopt zoning rules their constituents might like — and in some cases, it’s uncertain just how much authority municipalities have, say Asheville City Attorney Brad Branham and other lawyers working in the field.
“Because the presence of a pollutant that is harmful to both human health and the environment has been documented in our region (we have the water samples to prove it), Asheville and Buncombe County not only have the power to act, they have a legal duty to protect its residents.”
Candidates in the N.C. Senate District 46 Republican 2022 primary share their positions with Xpress.
Candidates in the N.C. Senate District 49 Democratic 2022 primary share their positions with Xpress.
Candidates in the N.C. House District 115 Republican 2022 primary share their positions with Xpress.
“Residents’ health shouldn’t have to suffer when there are practical alternatives to open burning.”
“It is wrong for politicians of either party to create maps that serve themselves rather than their constituents.”
“First, he noted that the maps drawn for North Carolina followed previous court orders. That in no way should imply that the maps were drawn fairly.”
The planned retirements of Reps. John Ager, Susan Fisher and Brian Turner — all three multi-term Democratic members of the N.C. House from Buncombe County — mean the county’s state-level representation is set for a big shift in the upcoming election.
“The state legislature shouldn’t tell municipalities how to run their towns.”
“An increase in the subsidy rate formula will allow more centers to continue operating and to increase pay for the child care workforce.”
The N.C. General Assembly must take census results into account as members create new voting district boundaries that reflect the state’s population growth and follow strict legal criteria. Western North Carolina’s state Senate and U.S. House districts are both likely to see changes for the 2022 election cycle.
