Two city council candidates have records of far-right bigotry

Developers David Moritz and Jared Wheatley are running for Asheville city council seats. But behind their attempts to rebrand as…

Analyzing the 2026 city elections

In a wide-ranging segment with Asheville FM’s Community News, we analyze a mayoral rematch, a crowded city council primary and…

Help the Blade survive in 2026

Like so many in our city the journalists in the Asheville Blade co-op have faced serious struggles in the aftermath…

COVID WAVE ALERT LIFTED — May 7

Reduced tourism and more vaccinations help lead to the mildest winter wave in years. Here’s more about what’s happening, and…

Asheville City Council candidate interview — Julie Mayfield

One of the biggest tasks Council will face in the next four years will be the revision of the UDO. If elected, what will be your priorities for changing the UDO? We need to make sure we’re very intentional about getting the kind of development…

Asheville City Council candidate interview — Lindsey Simerly

One of the biggest things facing Council in the next four years is the overhaul of the UDO. If elected, what are going to be your priorities on that? There’s been a lot of frustration with the number of hotels that are being built downtown…

Asheville City Council candidate interview — Keith Young

One of the biggest decisions Council’s going to face in these next four years is the overhaul of the UDO. If elected, what’s going to be your priority for those rules? How that affects short-term rentals and allowing more development projects to make it in…

Asheville City Council candidate interview — Spencer Hardaway

What motivated you to get into the campaign and what are the top three priorities that you want to get done if you’re elected? What motivated me was that I did not feel we were talking about neighborhoods should have more participation in the development…

Chicken Little’s laboratory

For three decades, plans for the Interstate 26 expansion have been driven by dangerous, outdated ideas that will hurt our city. The sky isn’t falling, and it’s time to call the state out Above: This postcard of the Smokey Park Bridge from the 1960s shows sidewalks…

Live with it

After months of wrangling, Council passes a living wage for all city workers. The bond companies also weigh in, with a very different vote of confidence Above: Asheville City Council member Cecil Bothwell. File photo by Max Cooper. Two matters of money dominated the relatively…

Six politicians and a showdown

Inside the results of the Asheville City Council primary, what it means and the showdown the results have set up The voters (about 13 percent of them anyway) have spoken: last night, six Asheville City Council candidates made it past the primary. Julie Mayfield, Brian…

Asheville City Council primary election guide

Drawing on your questions, the Blade asks the candidates for Asheville City Council seats about the topics that matter to our city Above: City Hall by night, photo by Max Cooper Today is primary election day. If you didn’t vote during early voting, you can…

Asheville City Council candidate profile — Keith Young

Name: Keith Young Profession: Deputy Clerk of Superior Court In up to two words, describe your political affiliation: Democrat, Progressive In one brief sentence, describe yourself and why you’re running: I am running for city council to help shape the vision of this city’s future…

Asheville City Council candidate profile — Dee Williams

Name: Dee Williams Profession: Self-employed Contractor: Community Economic Development Professional. Real Estate Broker. In up to two words, describe your political affiliation: Independent. In one brief sentence, describe yourself and why you’re running: I know how to help decent hard working people who want a…

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