This article was originally published by NC Local
Public records show that for at least seven years, while registered to vote at an Asheville address — making her eligible to serve on City Council — Asheville Vice Mayor Antanette Mosley simultaneously claimed tax benefits in Georgia legally available only to permanent residents of the state.
An NC Local investigation into the residency of the vice mayor showed she registered to vote using 3 Devonshire Place, a home in the Kenilworth neighborhood of Asheville, as her address. NC Board of Elections records show that she has voted consistently in Buncombe County elections every year since 2012.
Buncombe County property records listed Mosley as a co-tenant of the Devonshire Place property with her late father, the Rev. Charles Ronald Mosley, starting in 2007. She took sole ownership of the property in 2021, shortly before her father’s death.
Mosley listed the same address in her application to be appointed to City Council in 2020, when members chose her to fill the seat left vacant after the resignation of Vijay Kapoor. She was subsequently reelected to Council in 2022, finishing second in a six-person field, and was elected by her colleagues as vice mayor in 2024.
At the same time, however, Mosley also owned a home at 1168 Warfield St. NW in Atlanta. Records from Fulton County, Georgia, show she purchased the property in 2001. For every year since 2018 (the earliest for which documents are available online), Mosley claimed a homestead exemption for that house, according to tax records.
This exemption, which Georgia state law requires only be claimed for real estate “actually occupied as the permanent residence and place of abode by the applicant awarded the exemption,” reduced the taxable value of the house by at least $30,000.
Asked about the situation via email, Mosley responded that her permanent residence was in Asheville.
“I purchased my Atlanta property in 2001 and became eligible for the homestead exemption at that time. In Georgia, the exemption automatically renews each year,” she wrote regarding the tax issue. “I remain focused on serving the people of Asheville and look forward to continuing that work.”
Due to what’s called a “floating exemption,” which essentially ties the value of the tax break to the purchase price of the home as property valuations increase, the exemptions reached as much as $118,714 for Atlanta city taxes and $99,195 for Fulton county taxes. The total tax reduction due to the exemption for this year is approximately $3,150.
Mosley did not respond to a follow-up question regarding Georgia’s requirement that a homeowner occupy the property to claim the exemption. She also did not clarify when she moved to Asheville on a full-time basis. She currently works as an attorney for Alston & Bird, a large law firm based in Atlanta.
What qualifies someone to hold office in NC
North Carolina state law requires elected officials to meet requirements set out in the state Constitution. The Constitution states that a person is not qualified for an elected office if they are “not qualified to vote in an election for that office.”
The North Carolina State Board of Elections requires all candidates to be registered to vote in the state and qualified to vote for the office they’re seeking.
Asheville’s city code also specifies that “all members of the council, and all other officers, elected under the provisions of this charter, shall at the time of their election be qualified electors of the City of Asheville.”
Mosley told NC Local by email that she confirmed her eligibility to serve on City Council with Jake Quinn, a member of the Buncombe County Board of Elections.
In response to an NC Local inquiry, Buncombe County spokesperson Kassi Day wrote that “Buncombe County Election Services does not have awareness of this issue and no challenges/complaints have been filed.”
NC Local reached out to all six of Mosley’s colleagues on City Council, presenting the evidence and asking if they were aware of the vice mayor’s Atlanta residence. Only Council member Kim Roney had responded as of press time, writing that “the information you’ve provided is new to me.”
“The information you shared is only now coming to my attention, and I’m unaware of any prior knowledge of these matters within city staff,” Asheville City Attorney Brad Branham wrote.
“At this time, I do not believe I have sufficient information to draw any legal conclusions. In addition, it would be premature to speak further on the issue until the council member has had an opportunity to address the allegations,” Branham wrote. “However, the city will closely monitor the issue.”
This story will be updated.
This story was originally published by NC Local, a nonprofit newsroom delivering public service journalism about statewide issues.
