In a wide-ranging segment with Asheville FM’s Community News, we analyze a mayoral rematch, a crowded city council primary and why it’s important to think beyond campaign season
Above: Asheville city hall by night. File photo by Max Cooper
The 2026 Asheville city elections are unusual in many ways. The most crowded field of city council candidates in over two decades. A mayoral rematch. The first full election year since Helene.
But in many other ways things are, sadly, business as usual. As is typically the case during campaign season, cutting through the p.r., evasions and outright lies can be tricky. So in the interest of better informing our communities, we did an in-depth analysis segment in collaboration with Asheville FM‘s Community News program.
You can listen to it here.
In a wide-ranging conversation, Community News’ Lance Guyer talks with Blade editor David Forbes, who’s covered city politics for over 20 years, about the larger factors at play, said mayoral rematch and the 20 (yes, 20) city council candidates. But the segment goes well beyond that too, into the widening gap between Asheville’s political elites and most people living in this city post-Helene, the myths we get told about election season, why non-voters deserve listening instead of lectures and, most importantly, how some of the best ways to make change happen outside of campaign season.
Blade coverage referenced in the segment includes…
We are two cities, on the widening divides after Helene
The mayor vs. the First Amendment, on Mayor Esther Manheimer’s arbitrary use of city rules to shut down criticism, especially from pro-Palestinian locals
War on the poor, on escalating attacks on the homeless (as well as protesters and journalists) in recent years, and how city staff clamped down on dissent from local boards
The extraction budget, on the draconian 2025 city budget supported by all of city council (including Manheimer and Council member Kim Roney, who’s challenging her for the mayor’s seat)
Kill airbnb before it kills Asheville, on the devastating impacts of a 2021 policy (supported by both Manheimer and Roney) that let airbnb landlords rewrite city rules
Hate and cowardice in city hall, on the history of open racism and Islamophobia from David Moritz and Jared Wheatley, who are now city council candidates
The ‘mob attack’ that wasn’t, on Moritz’s involvement, with other far-right Zionists, in extensive harassment, bigotry and falsely claiming locals at anti-genocide events had attacked them
Primary election day is March 3. We hope that this segment will provide some much-needed context and history during a time when both tend to get buried under the campaign season rush.
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Blade editor David Forbes is an Asheville journalist with over 20 years’ experience. She writes about history, life and, of course, fighting city hall. They live in downtown, where they drink too much tea and scheme for anarchy.
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