Senate approves Asheville council districts, shifting election years; House vote next

Mark Barrett | The Citizen-Times

RALEIGH – The state Senate unanimously approved a bill Monday to require five members of Asheville City Council be elected via district after adopting an amendment to shift elections to even-numbered years.

Bill sponsor Sen. Chuck Edwards, R-Henderson, told the Senate changing from the current method of electing all of council's seven members in citywide races will "modernize Asheville's election process ... move city government closer to its citizens and ... restore confidence in the Asheville City Council election process."

If the House agrees, the next council election would be in 2020 instead of next year. Council members would be elected to represent Districts 1 (West Asheville) and 2 (central and West Asheville) along with the regular member of council to be chosen citywide. The mayor's job and seats on council from the remaining three districts would be chosen in 2022.

The Senate unanimously adopted an amendment offered by Sen. Terry Van Duyn, D-Buncombe, and backed by Edwards to make the timing change.

Edwards last year won passage of a bill that directed City Council to adopt a six-district structure that would have only the mayor chosen in a citywide vote. Council instead set a November 2017 referendum on the idea and 75 percent of city voters rejected it.

This year's bill would have the mayor and one other member of council run citywide. Edwards said he made the change in light of discussions he and other legislators had with members of council and feedback from the public via the General Assembly website.

Van Duyn thanked Edwards "for being willing to compromise" by changing the number of districts.

"We both have the same objective and that objective is a City Council that adequately represents the voters of Asheville ... though we might disagree on some of the ways to do that," she said.

If city elections are moved to years in which state and federal offices are also on the ballot, "We can anticipate greater turnout and greater participation in the election," Van Duyn told the Senate.

She had previously said decisions on the election process should be up to City Council and city voters and opposed Edwards' bill. She reversed course last week, saying she agreed to support the bill in return for Edwards' backing the change to elections in even-numbered years.

Some South Asheville residents and others have complained that the at-large system leaves them without representation on City Council and that too many council members have come from North Asheville.

Republicans have strongly backed the change to districts in hopes that one or more of their number might get elected via a district system. All seven members of council today are Democrats.

Opponents of the move argue that it would result in council members more focused on their districts than the needs of the entire city and that the General Assembly should not be telling Asheville how to choose its City Council.

Council elections are officially nonpartisan, but candidates' party affiliations are usually well known.

More: Van Duyn to back Asheville council districts bill if Senate shifts election dates

Battle over Asheville council districts lies ahead in state legislature

Statistics generated by the General Assembly suggest almost all council districts would be strongly Democratic and the GOP may have difficulty electing one of its own.

In 2016, Democratic candidates for president, U.S. Senate and governor handily won District 5, the district taking in South Asheville and the most conservative of the five districts Edwards' bill would create.

Monday's vote count in the Senate was 36-0 on second reading, then the bill passed on a unanimous vote on the third and final reading before being sent to the House.