Candidates talk about spending, support for education and what regulating short-term rentals should look like.
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Candidates talk about spending, support for education and what regulating short-term rentals should look like.
Safety and hospitality ambassadors for a downtown Asheville business improvement district would be perceived as a welcome addition by some — additional “eyes and ears” on the street. But others aren’t sure that such a program is a priority.
“I believe that a simple, tasteful plaque acknowledging our city’s (and country’s) complicated past would have done wonders to heal wounds and begin to explain what ‘diversity’ truly means.”
“I think tax dollars could be better spent on infrastructure — perhaps an upgraded water system?”
“I am quite hopeful that if I give as an individual to Asheville Planned Parenthood, I can recoup my money in a few years in the form of local school tax savings.”
“I don’t want to get all Field of Dreams on people’s asses, but we need not even build anything new or flashy to get the people to come.”
“Together, land conservation and affordable housing lessen the need for expensive new road infrastructure in the more rural areas of Buncombe.”
“I do not see why my tax dollars should be used to continue to support this toxic way of living.”
“I hope that city leaders are also levying infrastructure fees on all past and future developers/landlords to pay for upgrades to city systems that are already stressed by all the new arrivals to our area.”
“Moving out of this mess in 30 days. Y’all can have it. Going somewhere clean and quiet.”
“What activists need to organize is partisan welcome wagons and moving vans to welcome allies to vote for mayors to fund abortions to reduce school tax and housing demand. …”
“We need to elect new Council and county commissioners who know how to spend our money in the right places, not to please someone who doesn’t like to look at the Vance.”
“It’s going to cost gazillions to retool the economy, rebuild infrastructure and control COVID-19. That’s just the icing on the cake. The cake is global warming.”
“Why do we have two governments overseeing the same 45-mile jurisdiction?”
“In order to house, clothe and feed your family with an income that insulting, you need support from subsidized housing, subsidized transport, food banks and other charities.”
“I want to voice support for whose opinion was in the issue two weeks ago that outlined the need for more frequent buses.”
“In fairy tales perhaps, evil outsiders raise their own rent, but in reality, rents are set by local property owners and local real estate developers.”
“If we want to tax the rich, we need a movement to tax the rich that can stand independently of promised welfare programs like free tuition or better special education.”
ASHEVILLE, N.C.
“If your government can’t solve the problem, and they probably never will, it’s time you take matters into your own hands.”