Brownie Newman will not seek another term as the Chair of the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners. On Thursday morning, the local politician made the announcement in a Facebook post.
Newman, who served two terms on Asheville City Council before getting elected to commission in 2012, said the decision not to run was “tough.” Once he concludes his term in 2024, Newman said he plans to focus full-time on his work in the renewable energy industry.
“The climate crisis remains the greatest threat to our kids’ future and all that will come after them,” Newman wrote. “To avert the worst impacts of the climate crisis, we need to build about 5 times more renewable energy each year in our country than we have up to this point. I want to help make that happen.”
As commissioner chair since 2016, Newman has shepherded the county through a myriad of changes and challenges, including a high-profile federal investigation surrounding corruption and bribery among county staffers, which appears to have reached its final settlement this month.
In his statement, Newman pointed to several victories during his tenure, including county investment in affordable housing and public education.
“Thanks to the voters’ approval of the $40 million in affordable housing bonds last November, coupled with the county’s new strategies that leverage a lot of additional financial resources to Buncombe County, I expect we will be able to double or triple the number of new affordable homes/ apartments being built in Buncombe County each year.”
He also commended the county’s work to “accelerate the transition to renewable energy,” which has included the installation of solar power at public buildings and facilities and transitioning county vehicles to electric.
Here is Newman’s full statement on his decision:
“Good morning, friends. I wanted to share the news that I have decided not to run for re-election as Buncombe County Commission Chair in 2024. This has been a tough decision as I have loved serving on the Commission.
I want to thank everyone who I have had the chance to work with and everyone who supported me when I was a candidate. To all who knocked on doors, put up a yard sign, made a contribution or cast a vote, I will always be grateful.
I am proud of the many initiatives that we have been able to advance in our community. Although the challenges around affordable housing have never been greater, I am excited to see the county’s work in this arena growing to better match the scale of the need. Thanks to the voters’ approval of the $40 million in affordable housing bonds last November, coupled with the county’s new strategies that leverage a lot of additional financial resources to Buncombe County, I expect we will be able to double or triple the number of new affordable homes/ apartments being built in Buncombe County each year.
The county is now investing more than $10 million a year into new affordable housing. As important as approval of the bond was last year, it’s just a beginning. In the year I have left to serve, I want to support adoption of a plan for long-term funding for affordable housing and to finalize plans for redevelopment of some of the county’s underutilized properties, with a primary focus on affordable housing.
I also appreciate the county’s support for our public schools. As the state continues to under-invest, and is now massively diverting resources by providing taxpayer subsidies for private schools, support for our public schools at the local level is more important than ever. Although educators are understandably frustrated by the state’s lack of support, and have asked the county to do even more, the reality is the county has increased our funding for Asheville City and Buncombe County Schools by more than 25% over just the past two years, the largest increase in the state. Of the 115 school districts in North Carolina, the Asheville City School district receives more local funding per student than any other (Chapel-Hill/ Carrboro is the only one higher) and the Buncombe County Schools are also very close to the top.
The city and county school boards have some challenging decisions to make going forward. Although our community is growing, the student population in the city and county schools is declining. If we want to provide further pay-raises for educators, the school boards need to explore ways to more efficiently operate the schools. Otherwise, even if the county continues to increase local taxpayer funding for our schools, things won’t get better for teachers. There will always be a lot of competing demands but recruiting, retaining and supporting great teachers should be the top priority.
I am also excited about the work the county is doing to accelerate the transition to renewable energy. Buncombe County is installing solar on more than 45 of our county facilities, schools and AB Tech Community College buildings. This is the largest solar project yet developed by a local government in North Carolina. We have also partnered with Duke Energy to install a 5 MW solar farm on our county’s retired landfill. The county is also pushing to transition our vehicle fleet to EVs as a key pathway to pursue our 100% renewable goals.
The climate crisis remains the greatest threat to our kids’ future and all that will come after them. One of my reasons for choosing not to run for re-election is so that I can focus full-time on my work in the renewable energy industry. To avert the worst impacts of the climate crisis, we need to build about 5 times more renewable energy each year in our country than we have up to this point. I want to help make that happen.
To my friends and family who have been on this journey with me, I again say “thank you.” I look forward to collaborating with the community to get a lot of great things accomplished over the next year and to future collaborations to make sure Asheville, Buncombe County and western NC remains the special place to call home that we all know it to be.”
