Buncombe County – The field of candidates for this year’s election of local officials in Buncombe County is set. On Friday, July 16, the filing for offices closed. The Weaverville Town Council and the Woodfin Board of Commissioners will have contested seats.
Patrick Fitzimmons is the only person to run for Weaverville mayor. There are only three seats open in Woodfin Sanitary Water & Sewer District Trustee race and only three candidates (Ivo Ballentine, Sarah Gassaway and Don Haynes) filed to run. Barring a write-in candidate, these candidates are headed to serve their communities on their respective boards after the November elections.
Things in Woodfin will be interesting this year as only three town commission seats are available and eight people have chosen to run for the board. Three incumbents, Jackie Bryson, Debra (Debbie) Giezentanner and Don Hensley, will be up against challengers Ellen Brown, Eric Edgerton, Jim McAllister, Hazel Thorton and Linwood Nichols. Both Giezentanner and Bryson said they’d like to see the greenway/blueway through to completion.
Weaverville candidates Doug Jackson, Catherine Cordell and Michele Wood, along with mayoral candidate Patrick Fitzsimmons, said in a press release they had the support of the entire present board and told the Tribune when they filed they hope to be the only candidates running. Yet, Thomas Veasey filed on the last day, upsetting the other candidates’ plan. Veasey is a regular at town meetings and often offers public comment. He is on the Lake Louise Preservation Board.
Veasey had run for a seat before and was unsuccessful, but he’s back to see if he can swing an election the second time around. If not, he might have a shot at an appointment. Fitzsimmons’ seat on the board will have to be filed after the election and with Veasey being the only other resident interested in running, he or whoever ends up receiving the least votes could be a rational choice for the board.