Asheville – Leadership Asheville Forum’s series of Critical Issues luncheons kicked off with a spirited debate between Buncombe County Commission Chair candidates Amanda Edwards and Van Duncan.
Held at the Asheville Country Club on September 25, over 45 attendees joined the event to hear each candidate’s platform, experience, and plans for the future of Buncombe County.
Moderator John Ellis began the afternoon by emphasizing the importance of the upcoming election. “Being a battleground state, it means our vote carries a lot of weight,” said Ellis, noting that while national issues and races garnered the most attention, “our local officials are more accessible to us.”
Van Duncan is a three-term Buncombe County sheriff and current police investigator for the Biltmore Company. He began the forum by touting his successful service as sheriff, claiming “The work we did put justice into the justice system” while bringing the crime rate down 30% during his tenure.
Duncan shared his goals as a candidate included the unhoused population of Buncombe County, with the estimated 600 unhoused children as a priority. He suggested a focus on a housing-first solution, while stating the importance of recognizing that needs were “not monolithic.” He stated that solutions should be paid for by opioid settlement money, not tax money. Duncan also cited his concern about an upcoming $28.5 million budget shortfall, saying “I think we’ve got to slow down on the spending.”
In her opening statement, Edwards shared that she had 20 years of nonpartisan leadership, and holds the same advanced degree that county managers are required to hold. Edwards is a current Buncombe County Commissioner and serves as the executive director of the A-B Tech Foundation. She stated that she first ran in 2018 to provide leadership through “our darkest days as a county” following the federal investigation of former county manager Wanda Greene and other county employees for fraud. Her focus as a Commissioner is the economy, education, environment, and emergency services.
Ellis began the question and answer session by asking the candidates to “set the record straight” in regards to questions surrounding Van Duncan’s acceptance of a retention bonus during his time as sheriff. Edwards pointed out he was the only elected official to do so. Duncan responded that he signed paperwork for an early retirement incentive and was fully investigated and never implicated in any wrong-doing. He offered attendees the opportunity to review his personnel file.
Ellis’s next question asked both candidates to “categorize the county’s current relations with Raleigh, and particularly the general assembly.”
Duncan stated that the relationship was very good, “although we are known for being a progressive, left county is a sea of red,” and that the relationship would require someone who was a moderate and had prior contacts to work on complex issues such as education and infrastructure.
Edwards shared her work at the state level as a county commissioner and her history of working across the aisle. She also defended the Buncombe County Commissioners’ decision to hire a lobbyist to work in Raleigh, stating “Our work is in Buncombe County, and we can’t be in Raleigh and also be good county commissioners.”
Ellis then opened up the forum to questions from attendees. Topics included requests for both candidates to disclose their top sources of funding for their campaign, environmental concerns for the county, consolidation with the Asheville City School District, and election procedure and security concerns.
As the session drew to a close, the candidates had the opportunity to ask each other a question. Duncan asked Edwards if she and the other commissioners had called for an independent investigation into the tax assessor’s office due to allegations of misconduct, saying “the worst thing you can do is not be transparent about these things.” Edwards replied that, due to ongoing personnel issues, she was unable to disclose details of the case, but the commissioners we working through the Human Resources process of Buncombe County government to address the situation.
For her final question, Edwards asked Duncan if he continued to support North Carolina gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson in light of his controversial comments on a range of issues. Duncan explained that he was inspired to support Robinson, the current Lieutenant Governor, following a speech to the Greensboro City Council. However, Duncan said he no longer supported Robinson’s candidacy due to the recently revealed comments. “As soon as I saw these things come out, I separated myself,” explained Duncan.
As the event wrapped up, attendee Buck Bragg said that he was impressed with the civility of the event, particularly compared to national political debates. “The two candidates are aligned on many of the issues; this will be a hard decision between the two,” said Bragg.
Due to impacts from Hurricane Helene, the previously scheduled October Leadership Asheville Forum has been canceled. The series is expected to resume in November.