Asheville's out, but elections are happening in Buncombe and statewide

ASHEVILLE - The first Tuesday after the first Monday in November is when towns and cities normally make one of their most important decisions, picking their elected leaders.

But on Nov. 5, the the biggest municipality in the west of the state has no candidates on the ballot. After passage last year of N.C. Senate Bill 813, Asheville City Council elections were moved to even-numbered years. 

Following Asheville's lead, several other Buncombe County municipalities — Black Mountain, Montreat and Biltmore Forest — also made the switch, changing to the years when most elections happen, from county commissioners to the presidential race.

But that doesn't mean voting isn't happening on Nov. 5 in Buncombe. The three entities that didn't make the change and are holding elections are Woodfin, the county's third-largest municipality, Weaverville and the board that controls the Woodfin Water and Sewer District.

It's not clear what effect the shorter ballots will have, though initial voting numbers were low.

Polls are open until 7:30 p.m. Here are the candidates:

• Woodfin mayor: One candidate, incumbent Jerry VeHaun.
• Woodfin aldermen: Three seats, four candidates: incumbent Jim Angel, incumbent Don Honeycutt, incumbent Ronnie Lunsford and challenger Linwood Nichols.
• Weaverville Town Council: Three seats, three candidates, all incumbents: Patrick Fitzsimmons, Jeff McKenna and Andrew Nagle.
• Woodfin Sanitary Water and Sewer District Trustees: Three seats, three candidates, all incumbents: Ivo Ballentine, Sarah Gassaway and Don Haynes.

In requesting state legislators to make the change, Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer said she "would like to see greater voter participation." Turnout in the last City Council election, in 2017, was 23%.

But three of the seven council members, Brian Haynes, Sheneika Smith and Keith Young, opposed the move saying grassroots campaigns would get overwhelmed by money let loose during big-ticket election fights.

In Black Mountain, the Board of Aldermen voted 3-1 in November of 2018 to make the change, saying it would eliminate the bulk of a $12,000 cost now borne entirely by the town. The lone no vote, Ryan Stone said he feared voters would get ballot fatigue and pay little attention to municipal races during years dominated by big federal and state races.

More election news:

• Asheville to change charter to thwart GOP-imposed election districts
• Council split on whether to sue state over Asheville districts; mayor says case is weak
• Aldermen pass resolution to change Black Mountain election cycle

"I have a real concern that people won't be able to get as much information as they'd like, particularly in a presidential election year," Stone said.

Woodfin, one of the few holdouts, saw no compelling reason to make the change, either with cost savings or turnout, said Mayor Jerry VeHaun who is running unopposed. 

"We didn't see any benefit, one way or the other," VeHaun said.

But a small number of candidates — Woodfin was the only entity with more candidates that seats — and low initial voting numbers Tuesday showed the holdouts might be suffering the change. By 10 a.m. Tuesday, 69 people in the county had voted, according to county election services staff.

Black Mountain News staff writer Fred McCormick contributed to this report.