2009 Candidate Survey Responses & Voter Guide

Candidate for Mayor: Terry M. Bellamy (incumbent)

1. What are your top three policy priorities for your term, if elected?

1)Increasing the number of jobs available in Asheville and Buncombe County.

2) Push forward the many initiatives started in my first term, including implementing the Downtown Master Plan, Affordable Housing Master Plan, Bicycle Master Plan, Sustainability Master Plan, Parks and Green Way Master Plan and soon to be completed Transit Master Plan.

3) Continue to devise ways to limit the tax burden on the citizens of Asheville.

2. An estimated 16-20% of Buncombe County’s children and youth live in poverty; a number expected to rise during this recession. What role, if any, does council play in addressing the impact of child poverty (e.g. hunger, health, nutrition, education) in the region?

Council works to decrease the number of Buncombe County youth living in poverty by providing safe, affordable public transportation to those with no other means of transportation (currently approx. 70% of riders), providing quality, affordable, safe after school care and educational support at our many community centers, supporting economic development incentives for industries dedicated to providing living-wage jobs, appointing Asheville City School Board members committed to finding ways to ensure the success of all our students, supporting non-profits delivering direct services to families in need, being sure we have enough police officers to address the higher levels of crime in low income neighborhoods and working to make Asheville a more affordable city.

3. How effective has the City been in addressing youth crime, including gang-related activity? Are there other intervention and prevention strategies the City should invest in?

Prevention: Council has been instrumental in creating the City of Asheville Youth Leadership Academy - a paid internship program for students, developing and supporting (in partnership with the Asheville City Schools Foundation) the “Listen to Our Teens Project,” funding and supporting drama and moviemaking at the W.C. Reid Center, funding several outside agencies providing alternative programming for children, making it possible for staff members to volunteer as mentors and tutors in our schools and supporting athletic leagues for children and teens.

Intervention: The City is promoting the Juvenile Prevention Crime Council, using Gang-net software, collaborating with a multi-county-wide Gang Suppression Unit, introducing the G.R.E.A.T. curriculum (Gang Resistance Education And Training) in our schools, co-sponsoring neighborhood events as part of community policing and working in collaboration with the Housing Authority.

As part of a strategically attack on these problems, council is working to secure more living-wage jobs for at-risk children’s parents and continuing to partner with the State and Federal governments to reduce the flow of illegal drugs coming into our communities.
 

4. What is your assessment of the City’s public transportation system? Would you propose changes?

The City’s public transportation system has been dramatically improved during last term. In an effort to continue building on these improvements, great attention is being directed at the development of a soon-to-be-completed, new Transit Master Plan. I support removing under-utilized routes, adding Sunday services, increasing frequencies on high volume routes, adding the option of smaller, more environmentally friendly buses and expanding of the Pass-port Program.
 

5. The Asheville-Buncombe Living Wage Campaign calculates that a single person needs to earn $11.35/hr to have economic self-sufficiency in Asheville. Should the City ensure that all City employees and contractors make a living wage? Why or why not?

With my support, the Asheville City has voted to ensure that all City employees will receive a living wage. The issue of requiring city contractors to pay their workers a living wage is scheduled to come before the council in November. Staff is working on this complex problem with existing vendors and the Chamber of Commerce by studying today’s conditions, what laws are currently in place, how they are being implemented, how many contractors are not paying a living wage and the cost to the City of requiring these vendors to meet this standard. I will announce my position only after reviewing all the relevant data and carefully evaluating these inter-related issues.
 

6. What further role, if any, should council play in the I-26 Connector debate?

The City and its residents will be significantly impacted by the I-26 Connector, so we must continue to participate in discussions with the Metropolitan Planning Organization, the staff of the North Carolina Department of Transportation and North Carolina Department of Transportation Board of Directors. This issue has hung over all our communities for the past 20 years, so it is imperative we move the most thoughtfully designed alternative forward, in a timely manner.
 

7. Describe your vision for increasing affordable housing options in Asheville. How do the existing locations of the Housing Authority of the City of Asheville fit your vision?

My vision for increasing affordable housing options is included within the Five Year Comprehensive Affordable Housing Plan, scheduled to come before council this fall. This plan focuses on providing mixed income housing, placing subsidized housing in various locations in the community, as opposed to congregated in specifics, confined areas and developing a variety of different-sized housing units. I also support the efforts of the Housing Authority to move their existing developments into mixed income neighborhoods.
 

Back to survey homepage