Mayoral
Candidates, Week 1
Terry Bellamy
William Boyd
Chuck Cloninger
H.K. Edgerton
Dave Goree
Mickey Mahaffey
Brian Peterson
Bill Porter
Charlie Worley
Terry Bellamy
 I
want to be the next Mayor because I believe I represent your views
and will lead this community in a positive direction. As a West
Asheville homeowner, I understand the importance of a safe neighborhood,
pothole-free streets and civilized traffic. As a native of Asheville
who went away to go to college and returned home, I understand
the need for jobs for those who have graduated from college and
are looking to come back home and understand the importance of having
jobs for people of different economic levels. As a woman,
I recognize the need to be included in the decision making process
and the importance of having our voices heard. As a graduate
of Asheville High School, I know that all our children can achieve
academic success with the help of our teachers, administrators,
and volunteers. As an employee of a non-profit organization,
I understand the need for businesses and communities to come together
on common ground to find solutions. As an active volunteer,
I comprehend the diverse needs of our elderly in the community.
I represent Asheville and I have a vision for Asheville that includes
everyone, including you! My vision is to lead our community
in addressing the issues of affordable housing, economic development,
education, and basic city services. I believe I can do this by being
in the forefront while working with neighboring governments, visiting
existing industries, and striving to strike a balance between neighborhood
concerns and business interests.
William Boyd
Mr. William Boyd did not respond to a letter inviting him to
participate in The Candidates' Forum. No other means to contact
him were available through the information provided at the Board
of Elections.
Chuck Cloninger
 Because
I believe our goals should be even higher than our mountains, I
will be a candidate this year for Mayor of Asheville. I run for
Mayor because I believe Asheville can achieve great goals, such
as Smart Growth; the protection of our neighborhoods, our city's
natural beauty and our environmental resources; high-tech, high-paying,
low-polluting jobs; an even more vibrant downtown; parks and greenways
expansion; protection from litter, billboards and monstrous cell-phone
towers; and a modernized Civic Center.
My six years of experience on the City Council and my two-years
experience as Vice Mayor have given me a front-row view of the challenges
our city faces-and the incredible potential we have. My record shows
the kind of Mayor I would be--and how effective I can be. The goals
that I've worked towards include advocating for Smart Growth policies,
implementing controls on billboards and cell-phone towers, initiating
waste reduction and alternative-fuel programs, founding and serving
on the Asheville Parks and Greenways Foundation, and working to
bring passenger rail service back to Asheville.
We've made great progress, and we've shown what we can do when
we work together. But we're just getting started. With the right
leadership in the Mayor's chair and the right partnerships in our
community, we can make Asheville more beautiful, more prosperous
and an even better place to live.
If you share these goals, my vision and my willingness to reach
out and work with like-minded people, I ask for your support for
Mayor of Asheville.
H.K. Edgerton
 Excerpts
from an interview with H.K. Edgerton by Ron Holland of the Dixie
Daily News (printed with permission from both parties) -HKE
Ron- So you are running for mayor, do you really think
you can win?
HK- I've gained a tremendous amount of respect during the
past few years by standing up for the little guy against the rich
and powerful. Because of the hundreds of hours I've spent protesting
attacks on our Confederate symbols and heritage, I'm a well-known
figure here in Asheville. From fighting the drug dealers down in
the poor part of Asheville, to my work restoring an old Confederate
soldier and Slave Cemetery long forgotten near the Asheville School,
I've showed the voters where I stand on the issues.
Ron - …How did the former President of the Asheville
NAACP become the leading Black defender of Southern heritage and
symbols?
HK- I've spent most of my adult life trying to make a better
life for the downtrodden, those pushed to the bottom of society
by the politically powerful and the rich folks. I've spent a lot
of time working down in the poorer areas of downtown Asheville,
trying to run out the drug dealers and petty criminal types so the
children and teenagers can have a better life. For years, I did
my best as President of the Asheville NAACP to help people and this
is just what I'm doing now with my candidacy for Asheville Mayor
and what I did during the last few years with my defense of the
Confederate Flag and the Southern heritage of all Southerners black,
white and native American.
Dave Goree
 I,
Dave Goree, and the other members of The Asheville Freedom Team,
Bernard Carman and Kevin Rollins, believe that our City Government
doesn't work. We believe there needs to be a TOTAL REVIEW of all
City activities.
This TOTAL REVIEW should have two goals. (1) To ensure that no City
employee, regulation, department, or activity infringes upon our
Freedom. (2) To ensure that those City employees, regulations, departments
and activities that remain are operating as efficiently as possible.
This process is not new to me. I am a racing engineer, my life has
been the process of making something that works well to begin with,
either a racing car or a roadracing motorcycle, and making it better.
I want to bring this process to our City. There is no reason not
to do this, other than to protect the power of the un-elected bureaucrats
that have held the real power in our City. We, The Asheville Freedom
Team, Dave Goree for Mayor, Kevin
Rollins and Bernard Carman for Council, have no interest in this.
Our interest is in making our City serve its citizens in the way
that Government was intended by the Founding Fathers. Protecting
our Freedom rather than degrading it.
As Thomas Jefferson said,"A Govenment big enough to provide
everything you need is big enough to take everything you have."
The Asheville Freedom Team wants to ensure that Government gets
smaller. Vote for Dave Goree for Mayor, Bernard Carman and Kevin
Rollins for Council. Vote for The Asheville Freedom Team.
Mickey Mahaffey
 In
the next 4 years it's imperative that we focus on basic infrastructure
in our community. Talking with people across the political spectrum
in Asheville, I've heard a call for the city to invest in substance
over façade. Lack of attention to the basics undermines our
quality of life and economic vitality.
A fundamental need of any community is clean, affordable drinking
water. Our Water Agreement is up for review; we have the opportunity
to make changes to ensure this need is met.
Our water system needs help. Of the City's $22 million water budget,
28% goes to debt service. 27% of our water is lost due to dilapidated
pipes. Water rates have risen 31% in the last decade; we have the
highest rates in the state. Hidden in your water bill is a "payment
in lieu of taxes:" 5% goes to the City's general fund and 2.5%
to Buncombe County. Taxing water, a basic human right, is unethical.
It's time to get politics and bureaucracy out of our drinking water.
Water payments should fund the water system only. We must make repairs
to stop waste. And water can no longer be the cash cow from which
to draw regressive taxes.
Public scrutiny is vital. Council and staff admit the system has
been neglected for decades. I've attended all water authority meetings
for the past six months. As your Mayor I will keep our water system
on top of the critical needs list and work with experts to create
regional solutions.
Brian Peterson
 As
a member of City Council over the past two years, I have endeavored
to be a strong and independent voice for the residents of Asheville.
On many of the important issues faced by Council, I have asked the
hard questions and have offered new ideas.
I now seek the position of Mayor because I want to ensure that City
Council continues to be open and responsive to the concerns of all
Asheville residents. Throughout her term, Mayor Leni Sitnick has
consistently given everyone a fair opportunity to speak on any issue
before Council and has treated all speakers with respect and courtesy.
This openness has helped restore the public's confidence in city
government. At the city government level, everyone should have the
right to address and question their elected officials. I firmly
believe that government makes better decisions when there is a vigorous
public debate where all interested citizens have their say.
To the people of Asheville, I offer common sense leadership that
will balance grand visions for a better Asheville with practical
solutions to lead Asheville forward in the new century. As Mayor,
I will work to bring Council, City staff, and the community together
to improve basic city services and to enhance our exceptional quality
of life. I believe we can meet the challenges facing our city and,
at the same time, be more cautious in spending our limited tax revenues.
Bill Porter
 Asheville
is a wonderful place for tourists and visitors but not for the ordinary
working citizen or the businesses that provide his employment.
Over regulation has hurt development here. Luxurious beautification
projects are easily affordable by the wealthy, but when forced on
small businesses it increases costs which reduces growth and reduces
employment opportunities. The Unified Development Ordinance [UDO]
must be rewritten and non-health and non-safety restrictions removed.
Essential services are badly managed resulting in poor quality
and high costs. Our leaky water lines and our under utilized bus
system contribute daily to waste and financial losses.
Increasing taxes means less money for business development
and less buying power for consumers, which means a weaker economy
and higher unemployment. With proper spending controls the City's
tax revenues are adequate to provide essential services and reduce
City debts. No tax increases are necessary to maintain essential
City services.
Large operating losses from the Civic Center and the Transportation
System continually drain valuable City resources that would be more
profitably spent rebuilding our water lines, streets and sidewalks.
We need to sell the Civic Center to private investors, and we need
to seek a more efficient way to provide better mass transportation.
My Purdue and Northwestern Universities education plus 14 years
with Westinghouse and 9 years running a small manufacturing company
provide experience not matched by any other candidate for Mayor.
As Mayor I will focus on the essentials and promote a positive attitude
throughout City government.
Charlie Worley
 Asheville
needs strong leadership over the next four years - leadership that
can get things done, that can bring people together, that can create
consensus and common goals, and that can make the courageous decisions
for the good of the community. My record demonstrates such leadership.
I have tackled the tough issues. I have worked for consensus and
a shared vision and I have found solutions.
I bring a "complete package" to Asheville with my experience
on City Council, my leadership of the Water Authority and my involvement
in all aspects of the community.
Our job in a leadership role is to provide the basics for Asheville
and to develop policies that lead to a better quality of life. We
cannot provide jobs - but we can make decisions that make it easier
to attract new businesses and help existing business to expand;
we cannot build affordable housing - but we can make decisions that
make it less expensive for others to build; we cannot educate our
children - but we can make decisions that help others prepare our
next generation.
My record of community service over the years has been one of a
commitment to all of Asheville. I believe each issue must be viewed
on its own merits and decided on the basis of the City as a whole.
I have voted for and against specific neighborhood interests; I
have voted for and against specific commercial interests; and I
have always voted to uphold the laws we operate under. I will continue
with that commitment.
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