Asheville City Council sends message to Raleigh: We're keeping at-large election system

ASHEVILLE - City Council approved this week ordinances to amend Asheville's charter, reversing a state-imposed election system instituting new districts planned to take effect for the 2020 election.

The amendments defy changes made by the majority Republican General Assembly in passing Senate Bill 813 last year, which forced the council to adopt five new districts in next year's election. As expected from past remarks, council voted 6-1 during its Oct. 22 meeting to return to the longstanding at-large system where all city voters choose all members of the body.

Councilman Vijay Kapoor was the lone dissenter. Kapoor opposed districts when he ran for council in 2017 but ultimately changed his mind in June, arguing "districts will help council members more effectively represent Asheville residents."

Kapoor acknowledged the General Assembly has the authority to override council and impose a new election system. He said, "I hope they don't," citing the cost of litigation that he argues would be "a waste of taxpayer money and a serious distraction."

But Kapoor still noted returning to an all at-large system is "the worst route we could have taken."

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"While it might be better for certain council members individually, I think for the city as a whole, for the average resident, for minority communities seeking better access to their representatives, it's the worst system out there," he said. 

None of the other members of council commented prior to the vote. The body also unanimously approved a charter amendment that stipulates council elections will be conducted by a nonpartisan primary and election method.

At council's Sept. 24 meeting, many of the residents who spoke on the issue said they believed the General Assembly's intention was to dilute the city's black vote. Council members Keith Young and Sheneika Smith, who are black, previously referred to the law as a form of racial gerrymandering, with Smith stating district maps appear "surgically drawn" to weaken the black vote.

The bill's author, state Sen. Chuck Edwards, R-Hendersonville, has called those claims "maliciously antagonistic."

Council did not take public comment on the amendments after doing so last month in a meeting at downtown's U.S. Cellular Center. Asheville resident and former mayoral candidate Jonathan Wainscott was the only resident to address the subject, commending Kapoor for his "courage" in voting an unpopular position. 

Wainscott, a regular council meeting attendee, sided with Kapoor during past remarks, saying districts have been utilized by other cities to boost black representation. 

"I'm really disappointed in the rest of everybody," he said. "I'm really disappointed in the silence you've taken on this issue. I'm appreciative of the grace that most of you have displayed when it's come to withstanding harsh criticism.

"I disagree that this is over, certainly."