Six candidates are vying for three spots on the Asheville City Council.
Charles (CJ) Domingo
Republican Party
Where are you from?
Asheville, NC
What is your top priority if elected?
Restoring core city infrastructure and services, because all of those things on which we rely every day must work without question.
What three words would you use to describe your political values?
Responsibility - Representatives must safeguard the people's power and time.
Pragmatism - A good enough answer today beats a perfect answer at a date TBD.
Community - Because we are better together.
What do you wish the community knew about this office?
I wish the community better understood just how much influence the City Council has via committees. There are directions and decisions provided that profoundly affect the city's future. While these meetings are recorded, it amounts to a mountain of content to consume and assimilate.
Many folks have told me that they know basically nothing about the mechanisms through which the City Council makes their decisions. Almost everyone is aware of the council meeting on a regular schedule to vote, but the City Council isn't just giving the thumbs-up or down on hot button issues every two weeks. They are also regularly meeting with city employees and stakeholders to discuss public safety, transit, housing, and other important issues. Many have communicated to me that the sense that our government is run by some shadowy cabal. Fortunately, the truth is more Douglas Adams than Tom Clancy, because the information is there, but it is just provided in the most boring place imaginable.
I feel that if people were better aware of this, there could be more transparent and open discussions and more respect given to the community's wants and concerns.
What is one thing that you want to say to voters?
Your voice matters and your vote is crucial in shaping the future of Asheville. This election will reflect how *you* want your tax dollars spent. If you want to preserve city infrastructure and restore city services, if you want to use a three-pronged approach to take on Affordable Housing, if you think it's important to ensure that our children can afford to live in Asheville, and if you want a open and accountable government; then I'm asking for your support. I'm committed to working hard to represent our needs, to ensure that our community shares in prosperity, and to make Asheville a better place for all of us now and in the future.
Where do you currently live?
West Asheville
Sage Turner
Democratic Party
Where are you from?
Born in Michigan
What is your top priority if elected?
Housing - affordability, accessibility, equity, preservation, protection, production, and ownership. All things housing.
What three words would you use to describe your political values?
Accountability, sense of urgency, and communication
What do you wish the community knew about this office?
There's a wide variety of issues that affect the community of Asheville that the Council cannot tackle, unfortunately, and it is often confusing. Examples include NCDOT roadway repairs on our major corridors, changing any rules on tourism and taxes, requiring developers to build affordable housing, improving hospitals, banning plastic bags, and requiring living wages. Maybe we need a master list on our website; these areas are ones we are frequently asked about.
What is one thing that you want to say to voters?
Thank you to the residents of Asheville. Joining City Council and helping lead our incredible city has been an honor. You elected me in 2020, in such tumultuous and challenging times, to a historic all-female Council. I hit the ground running. I helped lead us through recovery and stabilization, changes in public safety, and new chapters of emergency housing, climate change, and reparations. I've championed so many affordable housing initiatives that no policy, fund, plan, project, or program went untouched and more were created. I hope I have provided you with excellent communication and representation along the way. I hope I fought for the vision you see of Asheville. And I hope you will support my re-election so I may continue this important work.
Where do you currently live?
West Asheville
Kevan Frazier
Democratic Party
Where are you from?
I'm a native of Asheville.
What is your top priority if elected?
Together creating an Asheville that everyone can call home through thoughtfully considered decisive action that results in all residents being able to find meaningful and prosperous work, enjoy a reasonable cost of living, and benefit from careful environmental stewardship
What three words would you use to describe your political values?
Vision.Practicality. Collaboration.
What do you wish the community knew about this office?
Serving and leading on City Council go hand in hand. To ensure that the people of Asheville receive both dedicated service and effective leadership, voters need to choose to elect candidates who are always kind and respectful of others, who find ways to help our neighbors, and who build our community such that we make decisions together as we take care of one another.
What is one thing that you want to say to voters?
Our job as a community is to do the hard work of collaboration to get us to “yes” and to do so as neighbors. It is my nature to make situations better in a collaborative, practical, and well-considered way rather than allowing people and initiatives to suffer or languish due to neglect and inaction.
Where do you currently live?
I live downtown.
Roberto (Bo) Hess
Democratic Party
Where are you from?
I was born in Lubbock Texas where my dad was stationed at Reese Air Force Base and my mom was in school for social work. We moved around a lot when I was growing up, but I moved to Asheville for college and have had the honor of calling Asheville my home for the last 22 years.
What is your top priority if elected?
My top priority is a thriving community that benefits all residents. My background as a social worker leads me to view my priorities holistically: Affordability and Economic Security are connected to Addressing Homelessness, Addiction, and Mental Health which tie into the need for Humane Solutions to Crime and intertwine with Fortifying Critical Infrastructure. Enhancing multimodal transportation, greenways, parks, and community centers while protecting our environment ensures that our city addresses immediate problems while also building a sustainable, inclusive future.
What three words would you use to describe your political values?
Progress, Justice, and Community
What do you wish the community knew about this office?
I wish people knew that anyone can run for office or attend City Council meetings to make a meaningful difference—we can all take part in the civic life of our city. You don’t have to be wealthy or part of the political elite to stand up for what’s right and just. We all have the power to create the world and the city we want, as long as we have the courage to stand up and to take action.
What is one thing that you want to say to voters?
Don't let anyone convince you that your vote is not important. Your vote is your voice. Thank you for reading these guides and engaging with the political process. As a devoted social worker, therapist, and addiction specialist, my heart belongs to this city and its diverse community. My campaign is a rally for the voiceless, bringing those long overlooked into the heart of our city’s governance. You'll see my name down ballot in November, but I hope to meet you on the campaign trail before then. Join my campaign for change at electbohess.com!
Where do you currently live?
Downtown Asheville
Kim Roney
Unaffiliated
Where are you from?
Born and raised in the rural South, Asheville has been my home since 2006.
What is your top priority if elected?
So many in Asheville are struggling to make ends meet as the cost of living rises while unchecked tourism strains our natural resources, burdens our infrastructure, and displaces our most vulnerable neighbors. It’s a matter of priorities–if we ensure this is a great place to live and work, it will be a great place to visit too. That’s why I’m committed to advancing: Affordability, Public Safety, and Climate & Neighborhood Resiliency.
True public safety is Asheville’s biggest issue and my top priority. Everyone in Asheville deserves to be safe, but a narrow definition of public safety limits successes and creates new problems. True public safety identifies needs and utilizes correct tools.
Making our community safer doesn’t have to be a distant reality, we should:
- Partner to expand Buncombe’s Community Paramedicine program with staff uniquely qualified to address behavioral health and substance use crises;
- Support community health workers organizing to prevent gun violence and intimate partner violence and facilitating healing for residents, families and their communities; and
- Regain our living wage certification so first responders can provide the quality services our community deserves and afford to live in the communities they serve.
Affordability and Climate & Neighborhood Resiliency are connected to root causes of public safety outcomes. The City of Asheville can:
- Facilitate creative and cooperative solutions for deeply-affordable housing with supportive infrastructure;
- Partner for humane, data-driven solutions to reduce homelessness;
- Leading in a regional transit system at the intersection of equitable access, economic mobility, and environmental sustainability;
- Secure our food and water systems;
- Diversify our economy and support local businesses;
- Implement adopted neighborhood plans and align Neighborhood Grants with our Climate Justice Initiative, including tree canopy restoration and stormwater mitigation;
- Holding standards for renewable energy in new development; and
- Center racial equity and follow through with our commitments to Reparations.
If we continue on the same path without meaningful change, we risk repeating past mistakes and deepening disparity. Instead, if we are courageous and dedicated to change with healing as our focus and equity as our goal, we can realize a hopeful, resilient future!
What three words would you use to describe your political values?
Community, Transformation, Hope
What do you wish the community knew about this office?
The people of Asheville deserve and can do better, there is plenty of room to collaborate, and our neighbors can help!
As an elected representative on City Council, I bring my experience as a service industry worker, community organizer, and transit-reliant pedestrian who has walked in every neighborhood across the city. I see, hear, and share concern that over-reliance on extractive tourism means we have the most resources our community has ever known yet some of the deepest disparities. When faced with decisions, I ask: Who benefits? Who are we leaving behind and why? With relentless overreach through preemption from the General Assembly in Raleigh, there are plenty of things the City of Asheville can’t do, but are we doing what we can?
When voting in meetings, you only have two options: yes or no. Of course that’s not the whole story as life is full of nuance and complexity. I have the courage to say no when needed and the leadership to say yes, to: defending neighborhoods from unchecked tourism, demanding fair water rates to keep our water on and reliable, passing funding and policies to make our roads safer for every commuter, and using my role to stand up for our community values–from drafting resolutions affirming human and civil rights including full-spectrum, reproductive healthcare, to collaborating on an alternative budget this year that would have improved pay equity for City staff including firefighters.
I’m hopeful because I know my neighbors care about accountability and support meaningful change, and I believe in our capacity to be better. Our neighbors can help by attending meetings, participating in engagement including public comment, and applying to serve on boards and commissions. Curious what is happening in civic meetings and where you might want to volunteer to bring your experience to the table? The City of Asheville streams and archives Council meetings and advisory board meetings on YouTube, from Planning & Zoning to the Transit Committee and more.
What is one thing that you want to say to voters?
We’re having hard conversations in City Hall because our community faces serious challenges. In running for re-election, I'm affirming my commitment to sharing the work to take better care of each other and our mountain home. More info on what that means and how you can join in the work at kimroney4asheville.com!
Where do you currently live?
The East-West Asheville neighborhood
Tod Leaven
Democratic Party
Where are you from?
I live in Asheville - first moved here in 1985. I was born in Chicago in 1975. I lived overseas for almost 6 years when I was in the Army, and I lived in Chapel Hill for law school.
What is your top priority if elected?
(1) Core City Services, (2) Affordable Housing, (3) the Unhoused
What three words would you use to describe your political values?
Actions over Words
What do you wish the community knew about this office?
There are three open seats for Asheville City Council and six of us are running in the general election. I can happily say that the other five politicans I am running with are all good people and have the best of Asheville at heart. We have a different perspective brought about by our different life experiences and have different styles on how to tackle issues, but they are all inherently good people.
What is one thing that you want to say to voters?
Asheville, we need to abandon our old NIMBY ways and promote a greater concentration of development in centralized areas, such as downtown, to (1) curb our out-of-control housing and rental prices, (2) make our public transportation more effective and efficient, (3) increase multi-modal transportation opportunities, (4) further promote more greenways and open spaces, (5) give the people who serve our great city the opportunity to actually live in the city they serve, and (6) promote racial and economic diversity in areas less susceptible to the consequences of climate change. I understand that when people move to Asheville they take a mental snapshot of our beautiful skyline and any derrivation from this snapshot is intrinsically perceived as a degredation, but we can do better than this. Together we can build the Asheville we all deserve.
Where do you currently live?
the Montford neighborhood of Asheville