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Asheville City Government Delays Action On State-Imposed District Plan

photo of asheville and the surrounding mountains at dusk
Michael Tracey/Public Domain
Asheville City Council remains quiet on state-imposed district plan

Why is Asheville not fighting a redistricting plan from the state legislature? Asheville’s local elections use an “at-large” system, which means that the six city council members and mayor are elected citywide. But last summer, state lawmakers created five districts for the Asheville City Council and delayed local elections for a year. 

Opponents say the state-mandated districts break up the power of the African-American vote in Asheville. Similar laws have been enacted in Greensboro and Wake County, but officials in those areas have fought the changes in court and won. Asheville City Council members have stayed quiet and so far have delayed action. Host Frank Stasio talks about why with David Forbes, editor of the Asheville Blade, a progressive online news organization.

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Amanda Magnus is the executive producer of Embodied, a weekly radio show and podcast about sex, relationships and health. She has also worked on other WUNC shows including Tested and CREEP.
Longtime NPR correspondent Frank Stasio was named permanent host of The State of Things in June 2006. A native of Buffalo, Frank has been in radio since the age of 19. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's News Director.
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