Name: Ed Hay Profession: Attorney In up to two words, describe your political affiliation: Democrat In one brief sentence, describe yourself and why you’re running: I’m running because county government faces new challenges in funding education, creating jobs, and adequately planning for future growth. I want to be part of the

Name: Brownie Newman Profession: Partner, Headwaters Solar In up to two words, describe your political affiliation: Democrat In one brief sentence, describe yourself and why you’re running: I am running to support our public schools and teachers, protect our mountain communities and to make sure Buncombe County remains a great

Without much fanfare, Asheville City Council moves to put more power over hotels and downtown development in their hands, reversing nearly a decade of city policy Above: Asheville City Council member Brian Haynes. File photo by Max Cooper. Local politics, like any other level of politics, is often a study

The response to recent protests by APD leaders and the city attorney’s office is marked by petty retaliation, contempt for civil liberties and repeatedly shifting explanations, giving locals of all political stripes cause for major concern. Above: a slide in an Aug. 3 APD presentation about its response to late July

On July 2, an APD officer shot and killed Jerry Williams. What’s known, what isn’t and what’s behind the public reaction that followed Above: Demonstrators embrace during a July 9 march through downtown. Photo by Micah Mackenzie On July 2, around 7:12 p.m., Asheville Police Department Sgt. Tyler Radford shot

The controversial company managing Asheville’s bus system almost gets another three years, as a process falls out amid withheld information, major questions, dueling committees and ongoing problems Above: the aging SUV used to ferry transit passengers when the system runs out of buses due to maintenance problems. Last year, both

A state legislator’s trying to drastically gerrymander Asheville’s city elections. Here’s why that push matters, and where it comes from Above: A list of census blocks making up the proposed Council districts in state legislation that would force Asheville to switch to a district system. On June 22, state Sen.

Asheville’s boards and commissions have a lot of power and shape the whole city. But despite increased interest, they remain whiter, wealthier and more male than the city they represent Above: City Hall by night, photo by Max Cooper This is a collaborative project between the Blade and the Asheville Citizen-Times, investigating the make-up and

The city of Asheville is set to pass a $161 million budget. Here’s what’s in it — and just as important — what isn’t It’s that time of year again, as Asheville City Council will, next week, vote to pass an annual budget, specifically $161 million in this case. You

Due to two major lawsuits, there’s a second primary tomorrow for key state Supreme Court and congressional races. Here’s where to vote and what it means Yes, fellow Ashevillians, we’ve been here before. Our state primary was March 15, after all, with people weighing in on races from the President