“We must ask ourselves, ‘What are we sowing in our community and in our world for generations to come?’ Will we build our economy on poison?”
![](https://mountainx.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/OPINION-Rachael-Bliss-330x495.png)
“We must ask ourselves, ‘What are we sowing in our community and in our world for generations to come?’ Will we build our economy on poison?”
The appointment could shape the outcome of the general Asheville City Council election on Tuesday, Nov. 3. And the very night that the appointee is expected to take their oath of office — Tuesday, Sept. 22 — they will also cast what may be the deciding vote on funding for the Asheville Police Department.
Of 911 calls and requests for assistance to the Asheville Police Department, less than 1% involve a violent crime, an AVL Watchdog analysis of police dispatch data shows. Much of the time, police are summoned to routine calls such as traffic accidents, domestic disputes and loud parties or non-violent crimes like shoplifting, trespassing and prostitution.