ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer is asking voters for a fourth term, and her pitch centers on continuity: the relationships she says she has built in Raleigh and Washington to bring Hurricane Helene recovery money back to the mountains.
The race is a rematch. Manheimer faces two-term council member Kim Roney, whom she defeated in 2022 by roughly 3,000 votes. This time Roney is campaigning on change, with calls for more open government and a new approach to policing.
Manheimer, an attorney, first won a council seat after being passed over in 2008 for an appointment to fill a vacancy. She has led the city since 2013, making her the second-longest serving mayor in Asheville history, behind Earl W. Eller, who served from 1951 to 1969.
City records put Asheville’s storm losses at an estimated $1.1 billion. The city’s Helene recovery coordinator has said about $325 million in federal and state money has reached Asheville so far, and Manheimer has predicted around $1 billion will eventually arrive, with applications still pending before FEMA and the EDA. She is also a co-chair of a state panel that advises Gov. Josh Stein on rebuilding the region after the storm.
On public safety, she backs both crisis response teams and a larger police force. She supported the police co-responder unit and the fire department’s REST program for homelessness calls, and said 20 new officers were sworn in this summer. She also joined Roney and other members in ending the police contract with Flock over privacy concerns.
On housing, Manheimer points to zoning changes that lower building costs and to $45 million in affordable housing bonds that voters approved in 2016 and 2024. Asheville votes in the November municipal election.
Section: More Asheville NC politics news
Filed under: Asheville NC Politics News
