Name: Richard Liston
Profession: Cab driver (Yellow Cab #32, 6pm-6am)
In up to two words, describe your political affiliation: Unintimidated Unaffiliated
In one brief sentence, describe yourself and why you’re running: I can’t just sit back and watch the soul of Asheville being destroyed by careless people.
General questions
These questions are about problems, challenges or topics facing city government and how you would try to deal with them if elected.
1) According to recent studies, Asheville has an extremely low amount of available housing and the city’s currently making national lists as an unaffordable place to live. What steps would you pursue to deal with this issue?
I’d work to significantly simplify the Uniform Development Ordinance so that affairs are not micromanaged by the city, yet the responsibility is placed on developers to demonstrate that their plans do not have an adverse affect on current residents and community members. I’d work to develop good jobs here in Asheville through organizations like Green Opportunities. I wouldn’t assume that large hotel chains that bring often hard, crappy jobs with long hours working for stressed out managers to Asheville are not better for our economy than industries that produce food, clothing, shelter, art, music, dance—things that don’t destroy our environment. I’d work to make it easy for people who have space to erect living structures (tiny homes/microhomes would be extremely useful here) as long as they demonstrate they’ve done due diligence in checking with all the affected community members, and those individuals agree.
2) During the past year, we’ve seen an increasing numbers of concerns raised about de facto racial segregation in Asheville, an issue worsened by the impacts of redlining, racism, urban renewal and the state of public housing. If elected, what specifically would you do to help address this problem?
Well, I’m starting by supporting the candidacy of Dee Williams. Bringing her perspective on Council would bring a voice that doesn’t get heard and considered enough. I’d continue doing what I’m doing personally—developing an adult education program that surpasses all others, giving people the incentive to develop skills they need to transform their own situations positively. On Council, I’d speak up whenever I hear something that sounds insensitive to the realities of the situations of the many people who are currently being negatively
affected by senseless decisions made by city officials on their behalf. I wonder if the other candidates even know where the racial segregation is occurring. I do. I drive a cab from 6pm-6am and I go everywhere.
3) From internal disputes and problems with morale to concerns about racial disparities, many are wondering about the state of the Asheville Police Department. What specific steps do you see as necessary to reform the APD and improve relations with the community?
We have a new Police Chief. It will take some time for her to fully assess the situation. I haven’t met with her yet. When I do, we’ll have a hopefully open, honest discussion about what kind of support she will need from Council. I’ll get input from diverse sources—police officers, city officials, homeless advocates, homeless people themselves, and people living in enough different parts of the city before making decisions that affect us all.
4) Wages in Asheville are well below the state average and federal data shows pay for many jobs here remains stagnant despite the tourism boom. If elected, what specific steps would you pursue to help boost local wages?
I’d make it easier and less expensive for local businesses to start here, rather than courting outside businesses who want to use our people and infrastructure without adequately paying for them. I’d ask our educational institutions why they think their students are in such dire situations when they graduate, or why students drop out before completing their programs. (I have an answer for this, but I’d like to get all our community members to start asking them hard questions like this. It’s their responsibility.) I’d do what I can to shift our focus
away from tourism to local, environmentally sound manufacturing.
5) The last city budget estimated the total cost of the city’s infrastructure needs at around $400 million. What steps would you encourage to address this problem, what funding sources would you use and what would the top priorities be?
First of all, I’m not impressed with the quality of work I’ve seen produced by our city officials, so I’d sit down with the Gary Jackson, our City Manager who came here from Fort Worth, TX, to question that figure in detail. I’d levy an occupancy tax for hotels that currently use our infrastructure without paying for it. I’d ask the city’s grant writers to raise funds in creative ways (like from the National Science Foundation and other foundations) to upgrade our infrastructure. I’d talk to people from nearby communities who have already gone through the process of upgrading their infrastructure so I can discover ways that we can save money as we upgrade ours. I’d study proposals in enough depth to see if I can identify ways to minimize waste. I’d ensure that the processes proposed for the design and implementation of upgrades are sound. I’d collaborate with our local educational institutions to apply the vast stores of knowledge they have to this process.
Yes/No questions
These questions are about specific proposals Council has or may consider, and how you would vote on them. The first word of each answer must be Yes or No. An explanation of one’s position — or an alternative proposal — may follow.
1) A majority of Asheville City Council recently approved increased fines and enforcement to strengthen the ban on short-term rentals (i.e. Airbnb and similar sites) in most areas of the city. Do you support this move?
No. Council did an embarrassingly poor job on this topic, bringing it before council for a vote before the ideas were fully developed. Council’s proposal was half-baked and laughable. It happened after they spent too much time naming the lobby of the US Cellular Center after one of the sitting Council members with a packed house of people worrying about whether they will be able to keep their homes or not. (They never called it US Cellular Center, though, even though that’s what huge ugly sign on top of it says, as well as all the signs on the streets of Asheville pointing to it.)
2) City staff recently proposed a detailed plan to restrict busking in downtown in three major spots, with specific rules on the numbers of performers and the amount of space they can occupy. Do you support this proposal?
No. This kind of micromanagement is exactly how I wouldn’t conduct myself on Council. What I *have* done is to talk with a number of people close to the issue. Someone mentioned to me a permitting process that “worked” in another City. I floated the idea with some buskers, like Abby the Spoon Lady and others. (By the way, I’ve done some busking on the streets of Asheville myself. It’s fun!) They were vehemently opposed. I heard their reasons. Essentially, it’s a pretty self-regulating subculture and they talk it out and explain what’s up to newcomers like me. If there’s a problem, that’s why we have a police department. We have a new Police Chief. I’m imagining and hoping that she’ll be sensitive to this unique aspect of Asheville and officers will be well-trained to handle inevitable problems which will happen whether or not busking is regulated, but I’ve reached the conclusion that regulating busking is a really really bad idea.
3) Do you support a $12.50 minimum wage for all city of Asheville employees, regardless of classification or status?
No. I’m a Computer Scientist. We learn that it’s a bad idea to hard-code numbers and apply simplistic rules like this to complex situations. Each class of position has to be considered separately. I’d gladly work to reduce the income of the City Manager and the City Attorney, though, and probably some others. There are plenty of competent people out there who could do a fine job for less. (Look at what they’re allowing to happen to Asheville, and we’re paying them to do it?) Then we could shift those funds to other positions in the City.
4) Will you approve city funds to support the proposal, backed by the city-county African-American Heritage Commission, for a monument on Pack Square marking the contributions and history of Asheville’s black citizens?
No. I really want to do what I can to reduce the amount of money spent by local government. That doesn’t mean I don’t want such a monument—I do! What I would like to see happen is for groups who would like such monuments or works of art or the like to submit proposals that they have sufficiently vetted, raise the funds themselves (via foundations, fundraisers, online crowdfunding, etc.) and build such memorials with support from Council and the City by getting out of the way, providing information, providing reasonable oversight and resources for such a memorial to become a reality.
5) This year’s city budget included a property tax increase, with a majority of the current Council claiming this was necessary due to revenue changes at the state level. Do you support that increase?
No. It’s time for us to get smarter and figure out how to reduce taxes. And stand up to the State. While I can’t promise that I would be successful, I can promise that I’d do my best, and my best is formidable. We’re just not being smart and creative enough. And we’re caving to the tourist industry that is increasingly being thrust on us by outside influences—primarily the hotel industry and the State of NC and *we’re* paying for the infrastructure that *they’re* using at *our* expense. Take a look at HB 347 (http://www.ncleg.net, type in “HB347” under “Find a bill”). This is a bad law. It’s micromanaging our affairs by people who don’t seem to care much about Asheville’s residents, and who don’t know what they’re talking about. They’re telling us we have to have a Tourism Development Authority who makes decisions about our community, and they’re telling us whom to put on it. I’m going to have a talk with these lawmakers. Soon. That’s what I do. By the way, yes, the Occupancy Tax would apply to short-term rentals as well. The people staying are using our infrastructure—water, sewer, garbage, police, fire, transportation—so they must pay for it as well.