ASHEVILLE - A councilman has changed his mind on a state-imposed election system, raising more questions on whether there will be a fight over the new city districts set to take effect in the 2020 elections.

Councilman Vijay Kapoor announced his new stance June 10, pointing to his experience on the council since being elected in 2017 and some changes in the district system.

"As a candidate, many of you know that I opposed districts and I realize that for some of you, this may have been one of the reasons you voted for me," Kapoor said in an emailed summary of a 15-page document "Why I changed my mind on districts."

"I am now that convinced that districts will help council members more effectively represent Asheville residents and neighborhood,"

Districts would improve the council, he said, "by making us more accountable to the average resident; making our workload more manageable and therefore allowing us to provide better constituent service; and ensuring that residents and neighborhoods in all parts of the city feel as if they have representation on council."

6 council members oppose districts

Senate Bill 813 passed in June 2018 by the majority Republican General Assembly with notable support from Democratic Sen.Terry Van Duyn of Biltmore Forest. Van Duyn, who is running for lieutenant governor, opposed districts but agreed to back the bill if it also switched council elections from odd- to even-numbered years, something she said would increase voter turnout.

All seven City Council members had unanimously opposed the districts, but it wasn't clear if there was a majority favoring legal action against the General Assembly, as called for by many members of the public. With Kapoor's announcement, there are now three in favor of legal action, two opposed, one undecided and one who has not made a statement.

Brian Haynes, Sheneika Smith and Keith Young signed a June 6 opinion piece calling the state plan a gerrymander and saying the city has an obligation to sue after 75 percent of Asheville voters opposed districts in a 2017 referendum. The bill's sponsor, GOP Sen. Chuck Edwards of Hendersonville, criticized the referendum, calling it a "sham."

Mayor Esther Manheimer, who opposes the state plan, said she didn't think Asheville could win in a meaningful way.

Councilwoman and state Senate candidate Julie Mayfield on June 5 said she was undecided. After Kapoor's statement, Mayfield said she hadn't yet been able to confer with City Attorney Brad Branham, but if Manheimer was right she might favor the mayor's suggestion of a charter change instead of a lawsuit.

"If a charter amendment gets us what we want without the cost and risk of litigation, that would seem the better course."

Wisler declined to comment June 10; when asked why, she did not respond.

The council next meets June 11 but the agenda showed no discussion planned on the issue.

Candidate, petition urge lawsuit

By the afternoon of June 10, the petition "Fight Asheville City Council Districting!" started by former council candidate Kim Roney had drawn 525 signatures. On the petition website, Roney gives the example of a major development across from "your home or business" approved by a majority of the council over the objection of the district's council member.

"You would not be able to hold them accountable with your vote because they are not in your district," she said.

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Kristen Goldsmith, the first declared candidate in the 2020 council race, has come out in favor of suing, saying it is "a moral imperative that we fight the state on this issue."

"It’s true that we may not win the legal challenge, and it’s true that even in winning we may only get the opportunity to redraw the districts, but the larger issue at hand is that we have to stand up for our city and our values against a GOP onslaught from Raleigh."

Under SB813, Goldsmith is in District 1, which is absent an incumbent council member because Mayfield is running for the General Assembly.

Kapoor opposed 6 districts, OK with 5

Kapoor said a main reason he now supports districts is that original plans from Republican lawmakers called for six districts with the mayor elected at-large. That's different than the system referendum voters rejected, he said.

That meant "residents could only vote for two people — their district representative and the mayor," he said. "Additionally, that map split downtown in half which made little sense."

SB813, passed in June 2018, changed that to five districts with one council member elected at-large with the mayor.

His analysis of numbers from the last election show the districts wouldn't amount to gerrymandering, he said. Two seats would likely go to moderates, two to progressives and a "toss-up that very closely reflects the at-large vote," amounting to a system he said would fairly represent the entire city.

Young and Smith, the council's two African-American members, have said the districts could create a racial gerrymander by splitting up districts with the highest number of black voters.

One issue on which Kapoor said he agrees with others is the need to reinstate primaries, which SB813 takes away in favor of a one election by plurality. In that system, a candidate in a large field can win with a small fraction of the total votes.

In their own words

Councilman Vijay Kapoor:

"As a candidate, many of you know that I opposed districts and I realize that for some of you, this may have been one of the reasons you voted for me ... (M)y experiences on council over the last a year and a half have played a big role in my decision to change my mind. I am now that convinced that districts will help Council members more effectively represent Asheville residents and neighborhoods by: making us more accountable to the average resident; making our workload more manageable and therefore allowing us to provide better constituent service; and ensuring that residents and neighborhoods in all parts of the City feel as if they have representation on Council." Full statement here.

Councilwoman Julie Mayfield:

"I remain opposed to the legislative imposition of districts. We have not discussed or received legal advice on the idea of a charter amendment so I can’t yet compare that to a legal challenge. If a charter amendment gets us what we want without the cost and risk of litigation, that would seem the better course."

District 1 council candidate Kristen Goldsmith:

"We didn’t ask for districts, and in 2017 Asheville spoke with one voice that we do not want districts. It’s true that we may not win the legal challenge, and it’s true that even in winning we may only get the opportunity to redraw the districts, but the larger issue at hand is that we have to stand up for our city and our values against a GOP onslaught from Raleigh.