Archive for Asheville City Council
Here in Western North Carolina, we now have an opportunity to reclaim our power from the special interests. We have a chance to take a step toward publicly-financed campaigns in Asheville.
At the Tuesday, June 8 Asheville City Council meeting, Council member Cecil Bothwell will offer a resolution in support of local campaign finance reform. If passed by the Council, this resolution will call upon the North Carolina General Assembly to enact legislation that gives larger towns the authority to sponsor a public financing program for their local elections.
Contact Asheville City Council members today!
Whether or not you live within the Asheville city limits, this is a matter of concern for all of us. And it’s important for you to email all of the members of the Asheville City Council expressing your support for the resolution for public financing of local campaigns. You can reach all City Council members at once by sending one message to AshevilleNCCouncil@ashevillenc.gov.
For more information on publicly-financed elections in North Carolina, visit the following websites:
- North Carolina Common Cause: http://www.commoncause.org/nc
- Democracy North Carolina: http://www.democracy-nc.org
- North Carolina Voters for Clean Elections: http://www.ncvce.org
Here are nine excellent reasons to support publicly-financed elections in Asheville.
- Big money can unfairly influence the outcome of our local elections. Wealthy donors, corporations, political action committees and special interest groups with a stake in Asheville City Council decisions can provide their chosen candidates with generous campaign contributions, giving these candidates an unfair advantage.
- The high cost of running for office deprives us of more diverse leadership. Many aspiring local leaders refuse to run for office because of the rising cost of campaigning for City Council, leaving us with a primarily white, affluent, male, heterosexual Council that is not fully representative of our city’s population.
- City Council members whose campaigns were publicly financed will be accountable to all the citizens of Asheville. Publicly-financed elections ensure that our elected officials are more accountable to the citizens rather than to special interest groups that provide substantial campaign contributions.
- Voters are more likely to participate in publicly-financed elections. When voters understand that all qualified candidates have a chance to win and that the election is not rigged in favor of the affluent or those supported by big money, they are more likely to participate.
- Chapel Hill’s 2009 municipal elections proved it works. Chapel Hill’s Voter Owned Election Program was entirely voluntary, and candidates qualified by raising a sizeable number of small contributions and agreeing to spending and fundraising limits. The two candidates who qualified to receive financial support from the city during the fall 2009 Chapel Hill municipal election cycle each won more votes than any of the non-participating candidates, and the program cost the city less than $1 per citizen.
- Other North Carolina cities have already voiced their support. Raleigh, Durham, Winston-Salem, Cary, Wilmington and Greenville have already passed resolutions similar to the one that is being offered at the June 8 City Council meeting.
- Citizens United v. FEC decision creates greater urgency. After the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision on Citizens United v. FEC that removed restrictions on corporate spending to support or oppose political candidates, there is now nothing to keep a corporation, on its own initiative, from spending huge sums of money in an Asheville election to elect a slate of candidates favorable to their interests.
- Voters from across the political spectrum want special interest money out of our politics. Recent focus groups in Charlotte and Denver for the Campaign for Fair Elections and Public Campaign Action Fund clearly indicated that voters across the political spectrum are angry about the problem of special interest money in our politics and want fair elections in which candidates receive small donations from everyday people.
- Keep “one person, one vote” a reality. By committing to publicly-financed municipal elections, we help to ensure that “one person, one vote” is not an obsolete expression, but is indeed a reality in our community.
Support publicly-financed elections in Asheville!
Posted by: | CommentsAs you are no doubt aware, big money currently plays an enormous role in our elections. From city council races to the election of the President of the United States, PACs, lobbyists, corporations and wealthy individuals threaten the concept of “one person, one vote” merely because they have deep pockets.
Here in Western North Carolina, we now have an opportunity to reclaim our power from the special interests. We have a chance to take a step toward publicly-financed campaigns in Asheville. And we need your support.
Bothwell to offer resolution to Asheville City Council
At the Tuesday, June 8 Asheville City Council meeting, Council member Cecil Bothwell will offer a resolution in support of local campaign finance reform. If passed by the Council, this resolution will call upon the North Carolina General Assembly to enact legislation that gives larger towns the authority to sponsor a public financing program for their local elections.
Bothwell’s resolution does not mandate implementation of public financing for our municipal elections; it merely puts Asheville on record as supporting the legislation that would allow our city to choose whether or not it wishes to implement public financing of local elections. By doing so, it becomes more likely that Asheville will be included as a pilot city in the legislation before the General Assembly.
Let your voice be heard
Whether or not you live within the Asheville city limits, this is a matter of concern for all of us. It appears that some members of the Asheville City Council and some members of our North Carolina legislative delegation have been reluctant to support publicly-financed elections for Asheville. So it’s time once again for grassroots action to let our elected officials know where we stand, to let them know we want a community that works for all of us, to let them know that we want big money out of our political process.
Actions you can take right now!
Call or email Sen. Martin Nesbitt requesting that Asheville be included in proposed legislation that would give our city the authority to choose whether or not it wishes to implement public financing of municipal elections: (919) 715-3001 or (828) 252-0490, Martin.Nesbitt@ncleg.net. Contacting Sen. Nesbitt is probably the most important action you can take since he is the NC Senate Majority Leader and, thus, has a great deal of authority in determining what transpires in the General Assembly.
Email all of the members of the Asheville City Council expressing your support for Cecil Bothwell’s resolution for local campaign finance reform options. To reach all City Council members, send your message to AshevilleNCCouncil@ashevillenc.gov.
Email our state legislators expressing your desire that Asheville be included in proposed legislation that would give Asheville the authority to choose whether or not the city wishes to implement public financing of municipal elections: Jane.Whilden@ncleg.net; Susan.Fisher@ncleg.net; pjkeever33@bellsouth.net
Write a letter to the editor of the Asheville Citizen-Times (letters@citizen-times.com) and/or the Mountain Xpress (letters@mountainx.com) expressing your support for Councilperson Bothwell’s resolution and publicly-financed municipal elections in Asheville.
Post this content on your blog/website and Facebook.
Forward this email and ask your friends and neighbors to take these actions too.
Suggestions for your emails, calls and letters
Here are some suggestions for making your communications with our elected officials as effective as possible. You may also want to keep these suggestions in mind when writing a letter to the editor.
- Always be respectful in your content and tone.
- Put your message in your own words rather than repeating someone else’s.
- Use an email subject line that will grab the attention of the reader.
- Make your point briefly and clearly.
- Remember that the Asheville Citizen-Times limits letters to the editor to 200 words while the Mountain Xpress has a 300-word limit.
- Call or write today!
If you have any questions or want assistance with any of this, merely reply to this email.
Let’s join other North Carolina cities!
Raleigh, Durham, Winston-Salem, Cary, Wilmington and Greenville have already passed resolutions similar to the one that is being offered on May 25, and the Chapel Hill pilot public financing program worked well last fall. Let’s join these cities in the march toward a more democratic society.
Please take action today!
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Read Cecil Bothwell’s draft resolution by clicking here.
For more information on publicly-financed elections in North Carolina, visit the following websites:
WNC for Change will host an Asheville City Council Candidates Forum.
Thurs, Sep 3
6:30pm
Hill St. Baptist Church
135 Hill St.
Asheville, NC 28801
Map: Click Here
CRITERIA
Our mission is to support local politics in-line with President Obama’s agenda. Our Board and Local Politics Committee created a questionnaire and invited all Asheville City Council official candidates to respond. After receiving the responses, our Board and Local Politics Committee reviewed each response and voted on whom to invite based on our mission.
Based on their responses, we have invited:
Cecil Bothwell – Website
Esther Manheimer – Website
Cesar Romero – Email
Gordon Smith – Website
Our Health Care Campaign Office NOW OPEN!
Posted by: | CommentsWNC for Change will have a Health Care campaign office open to the public.
Visit us to sign up for events, get information, make some calls, knock on doors, and learn how you can fight for health care reform.
LOCATION:
Mountain Java Coffeehouse
870 Merrimon Ave.
Asheville, NC 28804
Located in North Asheville. From I-240, take the Merrimon Ave. exit and turn right on Merrimon Ave. Proceed north for 2 miles. The coffeehouse is on the left after BB&T Bank.
HOURS:
Mon – Sat
2pm to 8pm
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