Big government Republicans have begun another assault on Asheville and democracy. They’ve been trying to take control of the Asheville city council since former Senator Tom Apodaca’s ill-fated attempt to redistrict it a few years ago. Back when they first got control of the legislature, Republicans redistricted county commission seats and lost two legislative seats in response.
This time, they’re carving up districts, eliminating primaries and setting up winner-take-all city council elections. They hope a crowded field of Democrats will make way for a single Republican candidate. It’s heavy-handed authoritarianism at work again.
The legislators from Buncombe County all oppose the measure. A Republican from Henderson County, Rep. Chuck Edwards, who represents a small slice of Asheville is pushing the legislation. Back when Democrats controlled the legislature, most local bills needed consent of all legislators in a county to advance. In the age of Big Government conservatism, those rules are gone.
Republicans won’t pay much of a price for usurping local control. They’ve already lost the legislative seats they once controlled in Buncombe. The move appears to be sheer vindictiveness and a desire to undermine democracy.
The bill also seems to violate legislative rules, but in the Trump era, norms that once helped maintain good governance are out the window. The deadline for submitting local bills is long gone. However, King…uh, Speaker Tim Moore declared the bill was ok.
Republicans were once the party of local control. Now, they’re just the party of control. They’re doing all they can to limit democracy by gerrymandering districts, rewriting the rules of local and judicial races, making voting more difficult for elderly African-Americans and limiting the power of the governor. What’s clear is that they believe their legislative majorities are intact for the foreseeable future. They believe they’ve insulated themselves from checks-and-balances of our democratic system and they’re going to make all of us who disagree pay a price.
Thomas Mills is the founder and publisher of PoliticsNC.com. Before beginning PoliticsNC, Thomas spent twenty years as a political and public affairs consultant. Learn more >
Thomas,
Asheville mustn’t be corrupted by the big Republican governments establishment! I’m glad you wrote this illumnaitng blog post, I hope it gets spread state wide.
If we can keep Asheville’s water in our control, we can shut off service to nasty conservatives and teach them a lesson.
Mr. Mills
Don’t forget one of the main reasons they want control of Asheville – Asheville has control of the most abundant water resource in WNC. And he (or she) who controls the water, controls development issues, etc.
They lost badly in the NC Supreme Court in 2016, but on that day lead legislator Chuck McGrady repeated his vow “there’s more that one way to skin a cat.” Since then, he’s continued with his plan to try to wrest control of Asheville’s water away from the City. He’s gone quiet on it lately, because he has a viable opponent for the first time maybe ever, Gayle Kemp. But we have absolutely no doubt that he’ll try to grab Asheville’s water again if he wins reelection.
Hey Rick, we miss you i.n Buncombe.
Mr. Thomson:
I really am moved that anyone remembers me in Buncombe County. That has been so long ago, more than 30 years ago since I worked at the Citizen-Times in Asheville. No sure the old saying still is around. But in my days there it was said that “you can take the man out of the mountains, but you can’t take the mountains out of the man.” I still carry the mountains with me. My best to you and your family.
Rick Gunter, speaking of judgement from god, do you suppose any of our fine republican evangelicals are getting the point after this years rains have started to wash us all away???? Naw, probably not.
If you disagree with me, you are wrong. If you disagree with me, I will attack you. If my plans fail or backfire, I will find a way to blame you.
That’s the playbook, coming down from the top.
Well said. Succinct, but right on target!
This is how an out of control and vindictive homeowner’s association behaves, not a deliberative body.
Thomas Mills,
Thank you for the report on Asheville, my former hometown. I worked at the Asheville newspaper for 16 years and grew up about 50 miles from the Land of the Sky. The old saying rings true: “You can take the man out of the mountains, but you can’t take the mountains out of the man.” At least that is how it has been with me.
It pains me what has happened to my former hometown and native state. I do believe in cycles in politics and this one will run its course after a lot of institutions and people have been injured.
I hold out hope that a definitive judgment is coming against Trumpism either from Mr. Mueller or the voters, or both.
Asheville and the rest of us have been through a lot. I hope we can survive this crowd of Vichy Republicans.
I don’t know how our evangelical friends (and I grew up with them in Mitchell County, NC) could still be for Trump? I would never say this any other time or about any other group. But their support for him shows a total lack of character. Morality is out the window. Standards, norms, worthy traditions are washed away. God save us all, even the Evangelicals.