The events surrounding our local election process over the last few months were the catalytic events that have caused me to decide to seek office. The citizens of Asheville will decide in this election how they want to be governed. Are we going to be governed from the top down or are we going to govern ourselves from the bottom up? Are we going to have an open, accessible election process or not? Will we decide via a partisan or non-partisan method? All of these questions are valid and will be addressed during this campaign.
On Thursday, July 19, 2007, I filed the necessary documents to form a committee for the purpose of asking the voters of the City of Asheville to choose me to represent them as a City Councilperson. I am registered, unaffiliated (Independent) voter. I planned to make a run for City Council no matter what the rules were. I think it is important to note that I changed my party affiliation the day after City Council originally voted 4-3 to change the city charter without submitting the decision to the citizens of Asheville. I had been considering a change for some time and the "partisan/non partisan" issue became the deciding factor for me.
First of all, my personal position on holding a partisan vs. non-partisan election is I prefer a non-partisan process. I have thought long and hard about the issue and boiling it down to the essentials, I am for a non-partisan process for two reasons. First, I believe deeply that the principal of voting for the person far and away exceeds my loyalty to any particular preference based on party. I think that local elections offer our citizens an opportunity to uniquely know the people they are voting for. At no other level in the election process is that ability to know your candidates more available nor is the relationship between voter and representative more intimate. I believe that non-partisan elections, irrespective of the influence formal party participation, offer a unique opportunity to encourage the principal of voting for the person. Second, I believe deeply that when individuals first offer themselves for public service to the electorate that, at least in the eyes of the state, they should be running by the same rules. In partisan elections, the candidates plan by different rules and I believe that does a fundamental disservice to the voters.
The larger issue in this election for me is, Are We Fundamentally Committed to Democracy or Not? Personally, I can live with and will support whatever system the citizens of Asheville choose this fall. In the future, I will be happy to run by whatever format is in place at the time. I was willing to do so this time. Much more importantly, for me, is the issue of how this change was submitted to the voters for approval. I think that several of our Council members lost their way and lost perspective, when they failed to submit this decision to the voters voluntarily by asking for a referendum in the first place. I do not believe that you should be elected to office one way and then use the power of the office to change the rules on how you will be elected to another way, WITHOUT ASKING!!! That was the fundamental error here. I promise you that I will never do that.
I look forward to your questions and feedback on this issue.
You can e-mail your comment on this topic: govern@electdwight.org
