Current Buncombe County Commissioner Amanda Edwards announced her 2024 candidacy for board chair.
Edwards, who was first elected to represent District 3 in 2018, is the executive director of the A-B Tech Foundation.
"I first ran for Buncombe County Commission in 2018 in the wake of the County Manager scandals and ran on a platform of trust and accountability and working to restore that across Buncombe County," Edwards told BPR.
Edwards said K-12 education remains a top priority for county government. Other top goals include addressing environmental changes and affordable housing challenges, she said.
“We’ve had successes and yet there is more to do. We have hard-working people who aren’t finding good-paying career-track jobs, who are struggling to afford rent or mortgages, and who are simultaneously caring for their children, parents, and neighbors,” Edwards said in her online announcement.
The board governs more than 260,000 people in Buncombe County, the seventh largest county in the state by population. Commissioners oversee a budget of more than $510 million.
Earlier this month, the current chair, Brownie Newman, announced he will not run for re-election in 2024.