ALL TOGETHER NOW!

Professional experience and clear plans are needed to make sure no one is left out of our rebuilding. Asheville needs builders with heart. 

All of our lives were and continue to be deeply affected by Helene. All of our stories are unique.  Some were without water for a few months and some are still without a home.  Some were lucky enough to have insurance pay for their damages while so many more still wait for federal funding to trickle down. We came together, worked together, and got through the immediate aftermath with love from our neighbors. Across the state of North Carolina, initial damages were estimated at $53.6 billion, but the truth is that Helene’s lasting damage will be felt in its ripple effects and the indirect death toll will far exceed the immediate effects.

We need leadership that listens to all of us and has empathy for all our diverse mountain communities and fights to make things right. Independence means doing things for yourself, strength comes from helping others in their times of need. I’ve seen it first hand while living and studying at Tulane University in New Orleans. How that funding is spent will determine which families and communities will be left behind. We need to offer a hand up while working to address our own needs.  We are our brother’s keeper.  

• Spend federal CDBG-DR funds efficiently and make sure investments return affordability and growth to our community

  • Economic funding needs to go to local small businesses

  • Assure multifamily funding goes to projects that fit within the existing fabric

  • Make sure funding is dispersed equitable throughout the city, not just the areas in the news.

• Lobby for more federal and state funds to meet the need

  • Our elected officials must be our champions on the federal, state and county levels

  • The need is greater than the funds will ever be.  Instead of robbing Peter to pay Paul, let’s find the funding we deserve 

• Build community resilience as we rebuild

  • What we build back should be better than what was

  • New public buildings should strive for net zero and living building certification

  • Rebuilding needs to incorporate micro grids, and renewable energy sources for the future crises

• Address abandoned buildings with preservation and conservatorship rather than demolition and destruction.

  • Willfully abandoned buildings should be turned back to productive use through partnership with neighbors, nonprofits, and local organizations  

• Rebuild our riverside parks to host temporary activations, events and festivals

  • Make space for the arts and craft outside of the floodplain

Diversity is our strength and with an uncertain economic horizon, we need to be prepared to meet the future with innovation and creativity. Asheville needs to jumpstart our economy. 

A diversified economy makes room for all to enjoy the benefits.  Asheville was founded on railroads, textiles, and logging.  Tourism booms have defined the economic eras from the past century until today. We cannot rely on the extractive industries of the past and tourism to carry our economy forward. We need Tourism Development Authority investments to benefit us the locals. Our city should put in the planning work to   

• Attract investments in the sectors of the future 

  • We are missing out on the economic evolution happening in the Triangle and Charlotte

  • Our elected officials must be our champions of economic growth

  • We cannot rely on extractive industries of the past 

• Steer Tourism Development Funds to projects that benefit locals as well 

  • The TDA should partner in our transit by helping to fund an airport shuttle.

  • The TDA should help invest in permanent farmers markets that bring tourist dollars into our neighborhoods and foster the growth of local small businesses.

• Utilize city owned properties and private public partnerships

  • Build permanent farmers markets in

  • Public Assistance

• Foster a Place Based Economy.

  • The city should build permanent neighborhood farmers markets to support our agricultural, culinary, and entrepreneurial spirit.

  • Increase civic pride by investing in local brands

• Innovation and Arts Districts

  • Make space for the arts and craft outside of the floodplain

  • Create public private partnerships to revitalize intentional growth districts

• Partner with public education institutions to build a local talent base.

  • Partner with UNCA for business development and innovation

  • Partner with AB Tech on jobs training and new manufacturing

  • Partner with other universities in North Carolina and beyond for specialized 

We all go through hard times.  It's our connections and our communities that get us through those rough patches. Asheville needs compassion for all. 

Homelessness is a very difficult and evolving issue.  I start with the recognition that there is no single answer and that all members of our community deserve to feel protected and respected. I support housing-first approaches that pair stable housing with supportive services, and collaboration with nonprofits that provide a safety net to protect our most vulnerable communities from experiencing homelessness. On the other side of safety, we cannot allow those experiencing mental crises and drug addicted individuals to threaten the safety of our children and trash our environment, but we cannot rely on emergency responses alone or expect law enforcement to solve a housing and health crisis.  My focus is on expanding permanent supportive housing, improving coordination between service providers, building social safety nets and addressing root causes like mental health care access, addiction treatment, and the overall lack of affordable housing—because homelessness is ultimately a housing problem.

• Support Housing First Solutions to Homelessness

  • Vulnerable communities like veterans, former foster care families, and the recently incarcerated need supportive housing to avoid homelessness

  • Our elected officials must be our champions of economic growth

  • We cannot rely on extractive industries of the past 

• Curb homeless with supportive services, not just emergency responses .

  • Bolster the continuum of care .

  • Increase civic pride by investing local brands

• Support our local law enforcement 

  • Defunding the police was a mistake

  • Fund the additional police officers needed to fully patrol our streets

  • Maintain police presence in West Asheville

• Support our firefighters

  • Provide adequate salaries so our firefighters can live in the community they serve

  • Allow local 332 a place at the negotiation table.  

• Foster a Place Based Economy.

  • The city should build permanent neighborhood farmers markets to support our agricultural, culinary, and entrepreneurial spirit.

  • Increase civic pride by investing in local brands

Childhood is more difficult than ever and there are more threats to our environment and economy than ever before.  Asheville needs to invest in our children’s future.

All of our lives were and continue to be deeply affected by Helene. All of our stories are unique.  Some were without water for a few months and some are still without a home.  Some were lucky enough to have insurance pay for their damages while so many more still wait for federal funding to trickle down. Across the state of North Carolina, initial damages were estimated at $53.6 billion, but the truth is that Helene’s true damage will be felt in its ripple effects and the indirect death toll will far exceed the immediate effects.

• Increase and support Pre-K

  • Provide a voucher for all children 0-4 years old to lessen the burden of pre-k on working families

  • Offer leases on underutilized city owned properties to increase supply of schools and provide neighborhood early childhood schools.

  • Provide matching grant for improvements at existing early childhood schools

• Baby bundle

  • Provide new mothers with baby bundles of supplies, diapers, and information on services and best practices

• Plant Trees Now! 

  • Write an ordinance that finally allows the city to spend the capital locked away in the Fee in Lieu fund.

  • Stop waiting on studies and start regrowing our urban tree canopy

  • Trees are green infrastructure absorbing stormwater, cooling our urban heat island, and helping mental health

• Conserve our urban forests, outdoor spaces, and green infrastructure

  • Don’t let UNCA deforest our city

  • Encourage a city wide network of rain gardens to help minimize flooding

• Plant Trees Now! 

  • Write an ordinance to allow access to fee in lieu funds for tree planting

  • Stop waiting on studies and start rebuilding our urban tree canopy

• Protected Bike Lanes

  • Our region has some of the highest cyclist fatalities

  • We need more protected bike lanes and hike and bike trails  

• Greenways Forward.

  • Address Nasty Branch at the French Broad river

  • Continue to put miles on the Wilma Dykeman Greenway up to Woodfin

Planning, innovation and creativity are core to building a better city. Asheville needs to start planning now for the city we deserve. As we look towards the future, Helene’s true damage will be felt in its ripple effects and the indirect death toll will far exceed the immediate effects. Good governance and planning for a city that provides for all of us will alleviate that burden.  If we don’t change course now, we run the risk of our urban core emptying out to replace our farmland and natural spaces with suburban sprawl. Our only way out of this fate is to build our way out. We need to encourage sustainable growth within our urban core and along our existing commercial corridors.

• Update the Zoning Code

  • Replace envelope restrictions with Floor to Area Ratio planning to provide development and design flexibility for our widely varied lots

  • Include density bonuses for the developments we want to see including microgrids, renewable energy, affordable housing, mixed uses, and transit oriented developement 

• Community First Design.

  • Make a community benefits agreement standard for any project seeking a variance.

• Missing Middle Implementation

  • Apply the Missing MIddle Housing proposals to allow duplexes, ADUs, and neighborhood scaled apartment buildings through the city. No carve outs.

  • Work with local non profits to provide homeowners supportive services including, design, permitting, alternative funding, and labor to help upgrade their properties to meet zoning for growth.

• Protect Homeownership and Legacy.

  • Provide legal services and education so inheritors avoid probate.

• Increase Public Transit 

  • On demand microtransit can help expand our transit’s reach, provide service at off peak hours, and add redundancy for a more resilient system

  • Offer density bonuses for new developments that provide transit stops and support

  • Invest in bus lines with ridership