Mountain Xpress 2018 general election voter guide

By Able Allen, Virginia Daffron, David Floyd and Daniel Walton Welcome to Mountain Xpress’ 2018 general election voter guide. We’ve asked pertinent questions of all the local candidates, and now the choice is yours. At Xpress, we believe a well-informed voter considers more than a candidate’s party affiliation, making choices based on a leader’s character, values […]

Candidates for Buncombe County Board of Education, 2018 general election voter guide

Editor’s note: All of the candidates for Buncombe County Board of Education are running in different districts and are unopposed. They are not running against one another. For the sake of concise organization Xpress is listing them together. All voters in Buncombe County School Districts will see all the candidates on their ballots. Pat Bryant […]

Candidates for Buncombe County District Attorney and Clerk of Court, 2018 general election voter guide

Editor’s note: Todd Williams (Buncombe County District Attorney) and Steve Cogburn (Buncombe County Clerk of Court) are unopposed this election. For the sake of concise organization Xpress has listed them together in one page. Todd Williams Incumbent, Democrat, unopposed What are your top three priorities for the next term?  1. I created a task force […]

Candidates for Buncombe County Soil and Water Conservati­on District Supervisor­, 2018 general election voter guide

Editor’s note: Voters in Buncombe County will be asked to choose up to two of the following candidates for two seats on the five member board of Buncombe County Soil and Water District Supervisors. Alan Ditmore Website: facebook.com/Elect-Alan-Ditmore-for-Buncombe-SWCD-1822097381207746 Occupation: Handyman/pet sitter/small engines Previous candidacy or offices held: I stood (as they say in England) for […]

Candidates for Buncombe County Board of Commission­ers District 3, 2018 general election voter guide

Donna Ensley Democrat Website: electdonnaensley.com Occupation: Retired development professional Previous candidacy or offices held: None Key endorsements: Sierra Club, Buncombe County Association of Educators, Sen. Terry Van Duyn, AFL-CIO, Buncombe County Democratic Women Amount of money raised: $28,497 Top three donors: Ron Edgerton, Dr. Charles Weiss, Dr. Bruce Rogers Why are you running for county […]

Candidates for Buncombe County Board of Commission­ers District 2, 2018 general election voter guide

Amanda Edwards Democrat Website: electamandaedwards.org Occupation: Executive director, A-B Tech Community College Foundation Previous candidacy or offices held: I am a first-time candidate Key endorsements: Buncombe County Association of Educators, Police Benevolent Association, Sierra Club, AFL-CIO Central Labor Council of Western North Carolina, Rep. John Ager and Annie Ager of Fairview Amount of money raised: […]

Candidate for Buncombe County Board of Commission­ers District 1, 2018 general election voter guide

Al Whitesides  Incumbent, Democrat, unopposed Website : None / I’m on Facebook Occupation: Retired Banker, commissioner Previous Candidacy or Offices Held : None Key Endorsements : None Amount of Money Raised: None Top Three Donors: None Why are you running for re-election? I’m running for re-election because I want to finish what we’ve started in […]

Candidates for N.C. House of Representa­tives District 114, 2018 general election voter guide

Susan Fisher Incumbent, Democrat Website: electsusanfisher.org Occupation: Legislator Previous candidacy or offices held: Representative since 2004, Former Asheville City Board of Education chair Key endorsements: Buncombe County Association of Educators PAC, N.C. Association of Educators PAC, Police Benevolent Association PAC, Lillian’s List, Giffords Amount of money raised: $20,000 Top three donors: Mack Pearsall, Hank Teich, […]

Candidates for N.C. Senate District 48, 2018 general election voter guide

Norm Bossert Democrat Website: Norm4NC.com Occupation: Retired educator Previous candidacy or offices held: Ran for state Senate in 2016; ran for state House 2014; ran for Transylvania County school board on two occasions Key endorsements: N.C. Association of Educators, Planned Parenthood, AFL-CIO, Equality North Carolina Amount of money raised: As of Sept. 8, +/- $47,000 Top three donors: Audrey Stelloh; Carter […]

Candidates for N.C. Senate District 49, 2018 general election voter guide

Mark Crawford Republican Website: N/A Occupation:Administrator of a small nonprofit medical center Previous office held: Representative, N.C. House of Representatives Key endorsements: (Past and/or present) NCAR; PBA; SEANC; GRNC; State Party Amount of money raised: Third-quarter report not prepared yet Top three donors: Third-quarter report not prepared yet Why are you running for the N.C. House of Representatives? […]

Candidates for N.C. House of Representa­tives District 117, 2018 general election voter guide

Gayle Kemp Democrat Website: gaylekemp.com Occupation: Retired attorney Previous candidacy or offices held: None Key endorsements: AFL-CIO, EqualityNC, Moms Demand Action Amount of money raised: Approximately $17,000 Top three donors: My campaign is a grassroots campaign, and the individual donations are from $2 to $1,000. Audrey Stelloh, Princess I. Ferguson, Daniel M. Fowler Why are […]

Candidates for N.C. House of Representa­tives District 116, 2018 general election voter guide

Marilyn A. Brown Republican Website: marilynbrownfornchouse.com Occupation: Former music teacher Previous candidacy or offices held: Unfortunately no, but I’m looking forward to winning this seat in the legislature Key endorsements: U.S. Rep. Mark Meadows, N.C. House Speaker Tim Moore, National Rifle Association and N.C. Right to Life. Amount of money raised: Approximately $44,000 total Top […]

Candidates for N.C. House of Representa­tives District 115, 2018 general election voter guide

John Ager Incumbent, Democrat Website: electjohnager.org Occupation: Farmer, legislator Previous candidacy or offices held: N.C. House, two terms Key endorsements: League of Conservation Voters; Buncombe County and North Carolina Association of Educators; State Employees Association of North Carolina; Sierra Club, WNC Central Labor Council Amount of money raised: $150,000 Top three donors: All individuals and […]

The Halloween Voter Guide to Asheville City Elections

With Halloween and the Asheville city elections so closely aligned, we offer both some scary art (by cartoonists Brent Brown and Randy Molton) and the candidates’ replies to five key questions.
Come midevening on Nov. 5, Asheville voters will have picked their new mayor and three City Council members. There are two mayoral candidates and five Council contenders (of whom two are incumbents). In a series of forums, what positions have the candidates taken? How have they responded to voter questions? Look for recent stories at mountainx.com/election, and check these excerpts from the candidates answers.