Jeffrey Burroughs

Jeffrey Burroughs is an artist and small business owner who lives in West Asheville. He as lived in Asheville for almost six years and lives with his partner and two rescue dogs.

In one word, what is the top issue that is motivating you to run for Asheville City Council?

Recovery

The region is still recovering from Hurricane Helene — and likely will be for a long time. Considering that resources will be limited, where do you prioritize putting the redevelopment funds?

Recovery funds should be prioritized where they reduce future risk and stabilize people and businesses most impacted. That includes flood mitigation, resilient infrastructure, housing stability, and support for small businesses and artists. Funds should focus on preventing repeat damage rather than rebuilding the same vulnerabilities. Investments must move quickly and transparently into our local economy. Recovery dollars should strengthen long-term resilience, not just short-term repair.

One of the biggest issues facing Asheville is lack of affordable housing. What is your top policy change that you think would help address the situation?

My top priority is aligning zoning, incentives, and public land to produce housing that matches local wages. That means expanding middle housing options and prioritizing projects serving deeply affordable and workforce households. Market-rate housing alone will not solve this problem. The city must support nonprofit and mission-driven developers and preserve existing affordable housing. Housing policy should be judged by whether people who work here can afford to stay.

The city is facing a budget deficit of at least $26 million. How would you prioritize allocating what funds the city does have? Is there a section of the budget where you would make budgetary cuts, or would you choose to raise property taxes?

Asheville faces a structural budget challenge driven by rising fixed costs and slower revenue growth. I would prioritize core services, infrastructure reliability, housing stability, and risk reduction that prevents larger future costs. Preventing displacement and infrastructure failures is fiscally responsible. I support outcome-based budgeting that evaluates what is working and reduces inefficiencies. Repeated tax and fee increases should be a last resort, especially for residents and small businesses.

The City of Asheville and Buncombe County spent years working on a reparations plan for Black residents. Now the federal government is withholding funds from any entity that refers to DEI or that singles out a specific race for any special consideration and is actively discouraging DEI initiatives in local government. What is your feeling about the work the Community Reparations Commission produced? Would you implement its recommendations considering the federal restrictions? How?

The Community Reparations Commission produced serious, thoughtful work grounded in Asheville’s history and shaped by extensive community engagement. That work should not be dismissed or erased because it reflects real harms and real needs that continue to exist. Federal restrictions require us to be careful about how policies are structured and communicated, but they do not eliminate the city’s responsibility to address inequity and exclusion. I support implementing the Commission’s recommendations through legally compliant approaches that focus on housing stability, economic opportunity, access to capital, and neighborhood investment. Many of these goals can be advanced through race-neutral, place-based, and income-based tools that still reach communities most harmed by past policies. The measure of success is not language alone, but whether people see tangible improvements in stability, opportunity, and trust.

Do you think the current City Council has prioritized the right issues? If yes, why are those the right issues? If not, where would you re-direct the focus?

City Council has focused on many of the right issues, including housing, climate resilience, and recovery. Where we have struggled is moving from planning to implementation at the scale and speed required. I would focus more on execution, accountability, and outcomes. People feel the impact of delays, not plans. The next phase requires urgency and follow-through.

What do you love about Asheville that you want to see more of?

I love Asheville’s creativity, independence, and sense of place. I want to see more neighborhoods where people can live, work, and create without being priced out. More collaboration across differences. More investment in resilience instead of reaction. And more confidence in Asheville’s ability to shape its own future.