Joel Burgess

jburgess@citizen-times.com

There are a "plethora" of potential candidates coming forward, a top Buncombe County Republican said, to fill the spot in the November Board of Commissioners's chairman's race that will be left vacant by GOP Commissioner Miranda DeBruhl, who Monday said she will drop out the race and resign from the county's governing body.

County Republican Chairman Nathan West said he had spoken with eight people who want to take DeBruhl's place on the ballot and it's likely that more are interested. The eventual appointee will face Democrat Brownie Newman, vice chairman on the board of commissioners.

"I think we’ll have people coming out of the woodwork before too long," West said. He added it was still early in the process "given that we’re a little over 48 hours into it now."

He declined to give names but characterized the group as a mix of "old and new."

"I don’t mean age-wise. It's people who have been involved in the past and people who are just now becoming active in the party."

Only one is a former elected official, Carl Mumpower, who served on the City Council and as Asheville vice mayor. Mumpower ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2008 and lost a 2015 attempt to rejoin the council.

State law says the party of the candidate who drops out of the race can name a replacement up to 75 days before the election, which this year is Nov. 8. West said the county GOP executive committee doesn't want to wait that long given the cost of the race, which he said could see spending total $100,000.

DeBruhl's campaign finance reports show she raised more than $25,000 through March 3, while Newman has raised almost $7,000 through Feb. 29. It's not clear what DeBruhl will do with that cash, and West said he would not request any of her funds be given to the new candidate and would leave any such arrangement to the new candidate and DeBruhl.

Democrats hold a large advantage in terms of sheer numbers with 40 percent of the county's 183,342 registered voters, according to a Jan. 17 county election services report. Unaffiliated voters make up 35 percent of voters with 25 percent registered Republican.

But Republicans hold three of seven commissioner seats, and a win in the chair's race would give the party a chance at a majority.

DeBruhl, who was elected in 2014 made the abrupt announcement to pull out of the race just two months after winning the March 15 primary. She said she and her husband, Kelly, who run an RV dealership in Fletcher, had a business opportunity that would require her to be out of the county and state for long periods of time and she thought it was wrong to continue serving and running in the election.

She gained attention most recently for her role in opposing a $6.8 million land purchase to lure Deschutes Brewery to the county, a deal that failed and that Democrats say she played a role in scuttling.

Not only will a replacement have to be found in the chair's race, but Republicans will also need to name someone to take her District 3 seat until Dec. 1. Several people have also come forward for that spot, including Chad Nesbitt, who lost in the chair primary race to DeBruhl. West also declined to name those potential candidates, but said none of them were former elected officials. The appointee would have to come from District 3, which covers the west and southwest of the county. GOP executive committee members living in that district must make that choice within 30 days of her resignation.

After that, a nominee must be picked to run in November for the remaining two years of DeBruhl's District 3 term. It's possible that would be the same person Republicans appoint in the next 30 days. Democrats will also get to nominate someone to run for the remaining two years. Party Chairwoman Kathy Sinclair said it was "too early" to suggest any names.

Buncombe Commissioner Miranda DeBruhl to resign

Scramble on to fill vacancy left by DeBruhl resignation