Friends & Neighbors,

The last minutes on the clock are ticking: Our City Council is either going appoint someone for 2 years to the seat being vacated by Councilman Kapoor or appoint a placeholder for a few months while we have a special election for the vacancy on this year’s ballot. So Council chooses or voters choose. We’re in a unique position because some members of our Council and legislature worked to move our non-partisan, city elections to an even year during the districting fight around SB813. That meant we lost our election in 2019, set precedent in NC, and now every member of Council is serving an extra year in office. We need to remind our Council that the seats belong to the people, and that we need to protect our ability to elect and hold our representatives accountable.

What’s at stake:

1. We need to ensure equity in our budget, planning, & policies, taking action on intergenerational Black leadership demands organized by the Black AVL Demands Collective. We can follow and support the work here: https://www.blackavldemands.org/
2. We need to ensure a just recovery from the emergencies of the COVID-19 pandemic, racism, economic instability, and climate change.
3. We need to center those most affected in community as a majority of Council makes key decisions for our future, like the rules on new hotels being built since the moratorium ends in September.

Folks have been asking if I will apply for the seat being vacated by Kapoor since I was the next highest vote-getter in the most recent general election of 2017. I will not. I think working-class, poor, and compassionate people deserve to win this year’s election fair and square, and I have been outspoken with neighbors about fighting districting and protecting our access to fair elections.

We need to be busy about mobilizing voters to the polls, inviting new voters to participate in exercising their right to vote. Appointment vs election for one of the seats that could be on our ballot is a difference of a few days, and there appears to be an effort at maintenance of power and/or the status quo in a time when people are demanding necessary change.

Please join me in:

1. Asking City Council to publicly call on Kapoor to resign immediately, and publicly task our City Attorney with, seeking every opportunity to include the vacancy on our ballot November 3rd by emailing today: ashevilleNCcouncil@ashevilleNC.gov
2. Checking our voter registration: https://vt.ncsbe.gov/RegLkup/
3. Spreading the word that we can register to vote online: https://www.ncdot.gov/dmv/offices-services/online/Pages/voter-registration-application.aspx
4. Requesting an absentee/mail-in ballot now so you have the option: https://www.buncombecounty.org/common/election/absentee-ballot-request-form.pdf
5. Inviting 3 neighbors to make a date to vote during early voting or on November 3rd!

I’ve been encouraged to witness so many neighbors showing up in public comment and in the streets demanding change! Whether the appointment is a placeholder or serves through 2022, the neighbor who holds this responsibility along with the rest of Council will need to keep hearing from community. Let’s stay committed to listening, learning, and showing up for collective liberation!