ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Asheville will have a new mayor for the first time in more than a decade. At-large City Council member Kim Roney is the projected winner of Tuesday’s mayoral race over incumbent Esther Manheimer, based on unofficial returns posted by the North Carolina State Board of Elections.
The result ends a long tenure at the top of city government. Manheimer, an attorney and former state legislator, first won the office in 2013 and was returned to it in 2017 and again in 2022. She was seeking a fourth term this fall.
Roney joined the council after the 2020 election. She sits on three council committees: Policy, Finance and Human Resources; Equity and Engagement; and Boards and Commissions.
Her campaign centered on four themes listed on her website: affordability, public safety, transparency and neighborhood resilience. Endorsements came from groups including EqualityNC, National Nurses United and the action fund of the Center for Biological Diversity.
The mayor presides over the seven-member City Council. Asheville uses a council-manager system, so daily operations rest with City Manager Dakisha Wesley, who was sworn in in January 2026.
The new mayor takes over a city still working through recovery from Hurricane Helene, whose flooding on September 27, 2024 devastated parts of the region. Hundreds of millions in state and federal recovery money are aimed at housing, infrastructure and the French Broad River corridor, and decisions on that spending will shape the coming term.
The totals are unofficial until county officials finish the canvass.
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Filed under: Asheville NC Politics News
