Cost of living is the biggest problem facing working people in Asheville, especially when it comes to the essentials: housing and health care. What are your plans take to make these human rights accessible to people in Asheville?

Absolutely. It’s essential to improve the cost of living crisis, inadequate access to quality housing, healthcare, food and education is causing unnecessary suffering and death in our communities. I support making more robust social and affordable housing options, improving cooperative options, opening more options for missing middle housing, preventing further displacement, increased regulations on short-term rentals to open up more options for renting/buying.

North Carolina consistently ranks as one of the worst states to be a worker. How have you engaged with labor movements and unions? What are their biggest concerns and how will you help address them as a City Councilor?

I have attempted to unionize two workplaces previously through the IWW, we were pretty close the first time, but high turnover made it difficult. The second time I ended up leaving the job, additionally there wasn’t as much support. I strongly support unions. Workers have more power when they work collectively. Parts of the country with stronger union representation often have better wages, higher quality of life, and more democracy in their workplaces. I also support worker-owned cooperatives. I want to become more involved with the local unions in the Asheville area. Workers make up the majority of our population and their labor generates the revenue that makes this city run, therefore, their priorities should take center stage. Creating more quality paying jobs and reducing the cost of living are important, as well as job security, safety, and access to healthcare, education, right to rest, etc.

Our communities are not safe when people can be snatched from the street by unidentified ICE agents. What are you doing to combat ICE raids? What are the best strategies available to city council?

We must do everything we can to keep ICE out of Asheville and defund their operations. Grassroots movements can be a strong deterrent, growing DSA’s outreach helps with this. An option for city council is to make Asheville a 4th amendment city which restricts local cooperation with ICE against search and seizures.

City Council decides the budget. What programs or investments would you expand, and what would you cut or deprioritize, to better serve working-class residents of Asheville?

Start by investing in community support programs for mental health, substance abuse, and fundamental needs; divesting from bloated military-police budgets and foreign governments/bonds. I’m opposed to APD’s expansion in West Asheville. Improve sidewalks, nature preserves, bike lanes, sidewalks, and public spaces. There is limited ability to change tax laws in NC, but I support progressive gradient tax policies. So many people are struggling while so few live in unfathomable luxury.

What is the most important issue affecting Asheville beyond what is covered here, and what is your plan for addressing it?

Aside from housing and cost of living issues I would add that ecological development is very important. We can build cheap renewable energy, creating quality high paying jobs, while also reducing our reliance on fossil fuels. Additionally we can further regulate pollution into our air and waters, conserve our natural spaces, and improve our water and energy infrastructure to improve quality of life and to avoid a crisis like we had with Helene.

Cost of living is the biggest problem facing working people in Asheville, especially when it comes to the essentials: housing and health care. What are your plans take to make these human rights accessible to people in Asheville?

You’re also missing the other three big ones: childcare, transit, and food. But they’re all boiled into the same category that some Mayor said a few times: we’re working longer hours for lower wages. It’s affordability and wealth inequity at it’s core.

Housing: cooperative housing. I have a comprehensive plan to create consistent, stable, affordable housing where rent isn’t being shipped to Wall Street billionaires. Lowering your rent $800/mo isn’t a blank check for wealth, but it’s a step to be able to afford to live here. That’s what my plan offers.

Health care is so much trickier, given that hospitals, our current sticky point, is impossible for a city our size to navigate. Health care improves with safe housing though. The evidence of that is clear.

North Carolina consistently ranks as one of the worst states to be a worker. How have you engaged with labor movements and unions? What are their biggest concerns and how will you help address them as a City Councilor?

I’m not deeply embedded in the labor movement here in NC but I am deeply invested in the success of all workers and the tools they use to demand better working conditions and pay. It’s time that billionaires take a pay cut for once.

So much of what city council can and can’t do is limited by the state legislature. My role as city councilor would be to be supportive and elevated the work of working people and make sure their efforts are supported in every level.

Our communities are not safe when people can be snatched from the street by unidentified ICE agents. What are you doing to combat ICE raids? What are the best strategies available to city council?

I’m a lead organizer for the Southern Appalachia Solidarity Network, a group of neighbors that decided that we need to do something about this. So we’re training neighbors and building communication networks for distribution of information as quickly as possible based on first hand experiences and lessons from cities that have been affected by ICE.

I’ve also been working with city council to pass a resolution to make Asheville a 4th Amendment city. There’s some tension between what should be community led and what should be city supported based on FOIA and safety needs, but I think we’re moving in the right direction locally.

City Council decides the budget. What programs or investments would you expand, and what would you cut or deprioritize, to better serve working-class residents of Asheville?

Honestly, this is incredibly difficult without having full access to the scope of city budgeting and knowledge. There’s lots of things I could say, but in reality, budgeting is one of the most difficult and important things to do, especially where disaster relief money dovetails with the budget.

Ideally though our focus is more on prioritizing residents and recovery than continuing to hammer the tourism button over and over again. We need to push the TDA to pay for their fair share of the city. We did it once before, when McCormick Field needed renovations and repairs, we gave the bill to the TDA. When it comes to downtown Asheville and tourism districts we can start pressing the TDA to pay for the services they expect the taxpayers to subsidize. The taxpayers are subsidizing the tourism industry’s profits and it’s about time that stops.

What is the most important issue affecting Asheville beyond what is covered here, and what is your plan for addressing it?

Food insecurity. The food insecurity goes hand in hand with affordability, people not being able to eat, not be able to afford groceries is an issue that is rapidly increasing in Buncombe county. I’ve watched it firsthand in my organizing experience. It’s also a personal issue for me. I grew up with a lot of food insecurity in my childhood and seeing families struggle the same way my parents did is a struggle that no person should have to go through. So, the plan is with community support to build community-owned commissaries that have food and essential items such as diapers and formula, at warehouse cost plus a small markup to cover operational costs. This then would allow us to build a cooperative cold storage Warehouse share between all the amazing donation-based food non-profits in the area and our plan, in order to help us do more direct disaster planning in case of emergency. Like right now, as I’m typing this, I’m sitting at home in the ice storm thinking about how this is the exact right strategy. Treat food as a public utility that we can manage and navigate without exploiting people just so they can eat. And I wish we could talk about childcare more as an issue in our dialogue. After housing and food, before families having to pay for child care expenses. It’s often paying a college education every year just so you can work. If we want to talk about ways that families are punished in the affordability crisis, that’s the dead center of it. Because you don’t make enough money in Asheville to afford housing if you work. But you can’t have kids because the cost of child care will be more what you make. It’s a trap and we have to fix it. Solving housing is one aspect of it, but the other is once we get our financial house in order, building a community that respects the care workers that exist in our city.

Cost of living is the biggest problem facing working people in Asheville, especially when it comes to the essentials: housing and health care. What are your plans take to make these human rights accessible to people in Asheville?

Accessibility is one of the core values I’m running on. Housing must be affordable for the people who live and work here. If housing costs remain high, then our local economy has to provide accessible, sustainable jobs that allow people to afford living here. If wages can’t keep up, then housing costs must come down, renters should not be priced out of the city they sustain. I support renter rights and our ability to organize. We have to become more creative with our solutions to these problems. One way would be through sector-based housing, Buncombe County being an example of leveraging city-owned land and housing bond funds, built housing for sectors including arts and culture, hotel and restaurant workers, and prioritizing that transit is accessible. These developments can be an array of structures. They are not limited to stacked apartment complexes.

Public health also needs to be expanded and treated as a shared responsibility. I support creating neighborhood-based public health hubs across the city, with a strong focus on mental health and addiction services, especially for people who are uninsured or underinsured. This is an opportunity for the City and County to partner more closely to support our unhoused neighbors with real pathways to recovery, stability, and reintegration into the community.

North Carolina consistently ranks as one of the worst states to be a worker. How have you engaged with labor movements and unions? What are their biggest concerns and how will you help address them as a City Councilor?

While I haven’t yet had the opportunity to engage with labor movements and unions at the community meeting level, I’ve recently become more aware of the organizing work happening locally and welcome the chance to build those relationships. Given North Carolina’s long history of limiting worker protections, it’s important that local governments listen to and support organized labor wherever possible.

On a personal level, I am a worker myself. I’ve spent my career in hospitality, the beauty industry, and health care, and I know firsthand what it’s like to be self-employed and to rely on a tourism-based economy that often feels like “feast or famine.” I live the instability that comes with seasonal work, inconsistent hours, and the need to juggle multiple jobs just to get by.

As City Councilor, I would center worker concerns by supporting living wages, predictable scheduling, workforce protections, and partnerships that create more stable, year-round employment. In other cities, hospitality workers like myself benefit from being part of powerful unions like UNITE HERE. While there is a smaller percentage of the workforce that is unionized here, I think it’s important to support organized labor and workers rights for those who have access to a union and those who do not. I believe the local government has a responsibility to listen to workers, support organizing efforts where legally possible, and ensure city policies don’t deepen economic insecurity for the people who keep Asheville running. Helene recovery funds can also go to support local businesses and diversify our economy beyond tourism.

Our communities are not safe when people can be snatched from the street by unidentified ICE agents. What are you doing to combat ICE raids? What are the best strategies available to city council?

What we are witnessing today is a painful repeat of history. Not long ago in this country, many of my ancestors were taken from their communities by force, by both identified and unidentified agents – under laws that were used to justify harm and dehumanization. Seeing similar tactics used today against a different group of people, while being told to look away or believe otherwise, makes it clear that we have not fully reckoned with that history.

I have participated in group training on how to respond to ICE encounters in the workplace and have sought out opportunities to stay informed and prepared at the community level. I believe education and preparedness at the community level are critical. I support Know Your Rights training for staff, to be prepared if they are the victims or witnesses of federal overreach.

I also believe we must support humane, community-centered ways for people to live and work without fear. Enforcement should never rely on dehumanizing force, family separation, or propaganda that paints entire groups of people as criminals – narratives my own community has faced in this country’s past. If we do not confront that history honestly, we will continue to repeat it. This moment calls for solidarity, accountability, and the courage to stand against systems that divide and harm our Black, Brown, and Indigenous Communities, a culture of oppression that ripples to disabled, LGBTQ+, elder, workers, and eventually all of us.

City Council decides the budget. What programs or investments would you expand, and what would you cut or deprioritize, to better serve working-class residents of Asheville?

I believe expanding access to public healthcare options

Expanding economic services and opportunities to create sustainability and affordability for all types of housing for our residents to be able to afford (ownership and rent).

If we are going to have a budget deficit make sure to address wages adequately to include living-wages for all full-time employees, before big salary increases.

Invest in real time solutions that can bring jobs and money flowing into the local economy. One example would be a recent vote that outsourced security for a local city pool versus keeping that money in the local economy by hiring staff internally to source security locally. The benefits are that we can not just keep funds here, but also help prevent things before happening by having people who live and work here and know the communities they serve.

I only support deprioritizing or cutting things that are self-sufficient and no longer need government funding. Any type of wasteful spending by the city. Also open things up that need rebidding to see if services are cheaper with local vendors, regional vendors.

What is the most important issue affecting Asheville beyond what is covered here, and what is your plan for addressing it?

One of the biggest issues I plan to keep shining a light on is the unchecked tourism and for-profit outside developers we have here in our city and county. Although there is little we have control over where money flows with the TDA as City Council, but City Council along with residential both city and county support can put pressure to rewrite these laws to benefit general government funding such as public infrastructure, sanitation, public safety and more. Shining a light on the fact that millions of dollars flow through our city that does not contribute to the city’s everyday budget needs that could help offset some of the budget deficit that puts a heavy burden on the everyday resident is a tangible start.

Cost of living is the biggest problem facing working people in Asheville, especially when it comes to the essentials: housing and health care. What are your plans take to make these human rights accessible to people in Asheville?

The cost of living is the issue I hear about most from working people in Asheville. While the city does not directly control prices, housing and health care are at the heart of the pressure families are feeling. These are not luxuries. They are human rights, and city policy must reflect a responsibility to reduce barriers and expand access wherever possible.

When I talk about housing, I am not just talking about what Asheville often labels as “affordable.” Too often, those units are still out of reach for the average working person. Teachers, health care workers, service employees, city staff, and the families who keep this city running are earning too much to qualify for assistance but nowhere near enough to compete in today’s housing market.

Public housing must be part of the solution. It is one of the few tools the city has that keeps housing truly affordable over time and protects people from being priced out year after year. Public housing should be safe, well-maintained, and treated as a public good, not something to shrink or stigmatize. At the same time, Asheville must intentionally expand workforce housing for people who make too much for public housing but cannot afford market rates. Growth must include housing at wage levels that reflect real paychecks, not just income formulas.

Housing is also more than an administrative function. There is a growing trend to treat it purely as an asset rather than as the foundation for stability and wellbeing. My experience has shown that when housing is disconnected from services and community support, families are more likely to cycle through crisis. Housing works best when it is paired with access to services, accountability, and opportunities to thrive.

On health care, while cities do not control the health care system or health care costs, they play a critical role in access. Health care must be practical and affordable, not theoretical. People need preventive care, mental health services, and community-based support before a crisis happens. I support investments in neighborhood-based care, mobile and community clinics, and partnerships that reduce barriers for working families, seniors, and children. I also believe housing stability should be recognized as a public health issue and reflected in how cities invest their resources.

I say this not as theory, but from years of working directly with Asheville families who are doing everything right and still cannot afford to live here. I have seen firsthand how people fall through the cracks between public housing and so-called affordable housing, and that reality is what shapes my approach to policy. Asheville raised me, and my commitment is to ensure the city remains livable for the people who built their lives here. At the core of my platform is this belief: belonging starts with homes, safety, and our children. When working people can afford to live and stay healthy in the city they serve, Asheville becomes stronger, more stable, and more just.

North Carolina consistently ranks as one of the worst states to be a worker. How have you engaged with labor movements and unions? What are their biggest concerns and how will you help address them as a City Councilor?

North Carolina’s reputation as one of the worst states for workers reflects long-standing policy choices that weaken labor protections and suppress wages. While cities cannot change state labor law, we do have a responsibility to stand with workers and use local power to improve conditions wherever possible.

My engagement with labor has been grounded in proximity and partnership. Throughout my career in public service, education, housing, and community work, I have worked alongside unionized and non-union workers alike, including educators, city staff, health care workers, service workers, and frontline human services staff. I have supported workers advocating for fair wages, safe working conditions, manageable workloads, and respect on the job, and I have seen firsthand how policy decisions affect workers’ lives both inside and outside the workplace.

The concerns I hear most consistently are wages that do not keep up with the cost of living, lack of affordable housing, understaffing, burnout, limited benefits, and the absence of a real voice in decisions that affect their work. Many workers are doing essential jobs that keep Asheville functioning, yet they are struggling to live in the city they serve.

As a City Council member, I will use the tools available at the local level to address these concerns. That includes my intent to sign the Living Wage Pledge, supporting fair compensation and strong benefits for city employees, respecting workers’ voices in decision-making, and promoting labor standards in city contracts that prioritize fair pay, safe conditions, and accountability. This also includes ensuring first responders, including firefighters, EMTs, and police officers, are paid at levels that allow them to live in the community they serve and afford to raise their families in Asheville. Public safety is stronger when first responders are rooted in the city, not forced to commute long distances because they cannot afford to live here.

I will also advocate for policies that reduce cost pressures on workers, especially housing and transportation, and support workforce housing that reflects real wages. I believe cities should lead by example. When local government treats workers with dignity, listens to their concerns, and aligns policy with the realities of working people’s lives, it sets a standard that strengthens the entire community.

Asheville raised me, and my commitment is to ensure this city works for the people who do the work every day.

Our communities are not safe when people can be snatched from the street by unidentified ICE agents. What are you doing to combat ICE raids? What are the best strategies available to city council?

No one should feel unsafe walking down the street or afraid that they or their loved ones could be detained without clarity, accountability, or due process. Community safety depends on trust, and that trust is broken when people are afraid to call 911, report crimes, or access basic services because of fear tied to immigration enforcement.

City Council does not control federal immigration policy or the actions of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. However, there are meaningful steps local governments can take to protect community trust, civil rights, and public safety.

The most effective role for City Council is to ensure that local government does not contribute to harm. That means maintaining clear policies that limit city resources and personnel from being used for federal immigration enforcement unless legally required, and reinforcing that city services are accessible to everyone, regardless of immigration status. When people feel safe accessing housing support, health care, schools, and emergency services, the entire community is safer.

City Council can also support transparency and accountability by ensuring residents know their rights, funding trusted community partners that provide legal education and support, and requiring clear protocols for how city departments interact with federal agencies. Local leaders should insist on communication, not secrecy, and on protecting due process and human dignity.

Another critical strategy is strengthening relationships between residents and local law enforcement. Public safety works best when officers are focused on local safety, not immigration enforcement, and when residents trust that calling for help will not put their families at risk. City Council can support training, policies, and oversight that reinforce this separation and prioritize de-escalation and constitutional policing.

Finally, City Council has a responsibility to use its voice. That includes speaking out against practices that undermine community safety, advocating for humane policies, and standing with impacted communities, even when authority is limited. Leadership is not only about control. It is also about values, clarity, and refusing to be complicit in harm.

My approach is grounded in this belief: safety comes from trust, dignity, and accountability. When local government protects those principles, it strengthens the entire city.

City Council decides the budget. What programs or investments would you expand, and what would you cut or deprioritize, to better serve working-class residents of Asheville?

City Council’s budget decisions shape who gets to live and thrive in Asheville. While I would never make promises about specific cuts or dollar amounts without fully reviewing the budget, I do believe our values should be clear in how we set priorities.

I would prioritize protecting and strengthening investments that stabilize working-class households, including affordable and workforce housing tools such as the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, preservation of existing affordable units, and housing stabilization efforts like eviction prevention and emergency assistance. These investments reduce displacement and long-term costs for the city.

I would also prioritize funding that reduces everyday cost burdens for working families, including public transportation, youth and afterschool programming, and prevention-focused services that support children and families before problems escalate. In addition, I believe it is important to continue evaluating compensation, benefits, and retention for city employees and first responders so the people who serve Asheville can afford to live in the community they support.

At the same time, responsible budgeting requires careful review. I would take a close look at incentives, subsidies, consulting contracts, and administrative growth to ensure public dollars are delivering clear and measurable public benefit. Any decisions to deprioritize spending should be based on outcomes, equity, and long-term impact, not assumptions or ideology.

My approach to budgeting is shaped by years of managing public programs and being accountable for outcomes. As a City Council member, I will ask hard questions, review the full budget, and make decisions grounded in both fiscal responsibility and the lived realities of Asheville’s working-class residents.

What is the most important issue affecting Asheville beyond what is covered here, and what is your plan for addressing it?

One of the most important issues facing Asheville beyond what is often discussed is trust in local government and leadership. When residents see instability, controversy, or a lack of transparency at the highest levels, it deepens a sense that decisions are being made without accountability or clear communication. That erosion of trust affects everything, from housing and public safety to whether people believe local government works for them at all.

When trust breaks down, working-class residents, communities of color, seniors, and families already navigating instability feel it first. They disengage, lose faith in public processes, and are less likely to believe that speaking up will make a difference. That weakens our city at a time when strong, collective problem-solving is needed.

My plan for addressing this starts with steady, accountable leadership. As a City Council member, I would prioritize transparency, clear communication, and consistent follow-through. That means asking hard questions, insisting on clarity around decisions and processes, and being honest about constraints, tradeoffs, and outcomes. Trust is built when leaders are willing to explain not just what decisions are made, but why.

Trust also depends on how elected officials work with one another. Disagreement is a normal and healthy part of democracy, but it should be handled with professionalism, honesty, and respect. As a City Council member, I believe in working collaboratively with colleagues, even when we do not agree, and keeping disagreements focused on policy and outcomes, not personalities or personal agendas. City Council also has a responsibility to listen carefully, seek out information from multiple sources, and fully understand the impacts of decisions before taking action. Just as important, leaders must be willing to take ownership and acknowledge when something is not working or when a mistake has been made, because transparency and course correction are essential to rebuilding public trust.

Finally, rebuilding trust requires consistent, meaningful engagement with the community. Engagement cannot be limited to public comment periods or moments of crisis. Residents need to see that their lived experiences inform policy and that their voices matter beyond a single meeting or vote.

Asheville raised me, and my commitment is to help restore confidence in local government by leading with integrity, humility, and respect for the people most impacted by city decisions. When residents trust their leaders and institutions, Asheville is stronger, more stable, and better equipped to face every other challenge ahead.

Cost of living is the biggest problem facing working people in Asheville, especially when it comes to the essentials: housing and health care. What are your plans take to make these human rights accessible to people in Asheville?

Housing affordability is the most urgent cost-of-living issue facing Asheville’s working class. My focus is on expanding deeply affordable and workforce housing tied to local wages, protecting existing affordable housing, and using city tools like zoning, public land, and incentives to increase supply at multiple income levels.

I support missing middle housing, multi-family construction, and partnerships with nonprofit and mission-driven developers to create housing that people who work here can actually afford. Preventing displacement is as important as building new units.

While healthcare is largely controlled at the state and federal level, the city can support access by stabilizing housing, reducing transportation barriers, and supporting a workforce that includes healthcare workers themselves. Housing stability is a public health intervention, and city policy should reflect that reality.

North Carolina consistently ranks as one of the worst states to be a worker. How have you engaged with labor movements and unions? What are their biggest concerns and how will you help address them as a City Councilor?

I have engaged with workers and labor concerns primarily through my work with small businesses, artists, and service workers, many of whom operate without traditional labor protections. The biggest concerns I hear are housing costs, unpredictable work conditions, lack of benefits, and instability during economic shocks.

As a City Councilor, I would focus on policies that stabilize workers’ lives, including housing affordability, reliable transit, fair city wages, and recovery investments that protect jobs rather than displace them. I support the city being a responsible employer and contractor, with fair wages and clear labor standards.

As a campaign, my team and I have committed to working exclusively with a union printer for our campaign materials, and have met with both the labor and progressive caucus, and are open to meeting with other labor movements. While NC remains a right-to-work state, I believe that labor organizing is having a strong moment and is picking up steam, especially with the statewide AFL-CIO now led by Braxton Winston.

The city should continue to engage with unions and worker organizations in good faith, particularly around public employment, construction, and service contracts, like the local firefighters association, the IAFF Local 332. Strong worker protections and a stable workforce are essential to a functioning city.

Our communities are not safe when people can be snatched from the street by unidentified ICE agents. What are you doing to combat ICE raids? What are the best strategies available to city council?

I believe that fear-based enforcement undermines public safety and destabilizes communities. People should not be afraid to go to work, take their children to school, or access basic services because of immigration enforcement tactics.

At the city level, the most effective strategies include limiting cooperation with federal immigration enforcement beyond what is legally required, ensuring city services are accessible regardless of immigration status, and clearly communicating residents’ rights. Trust between residents and local government is essential, especially during emergencies and disasters.

City Council also plays a critical role in supporting community organizations that provide legal aid, education, and rapid response support to immigrant families, including groups like Siembra NC, CIMA, and Pisgah Legal Services. These partnerships help ensure people know their rights and can access assistance when they need it most.

Public safety is built through stability, trust, and access to services, not intimidation. City leadership should be clear about standing for dignity, safety, and inclusion.

City Council decides the budget. What programs or investments would you expand, and what would you cut or deprioritize, to better serve working-class residents of Asheville?

I would prioritize investments that directly reduce cost pressures on working-class residents, including affordable housing, climate resilience, infrastructure reliability, and fair wages for city workers. Preventing displacement, fixing infrastructure before it fails, and reducing future disaster costs are fiscally responsible choices.

I would scrutinize programs that rely on short-term fixes, lack clear performance metrics, or repeatedly push costs into the future. Asheville cannot afford inefficiency when working people are already stretched thin.

Rather than austerity for its own sake, my approach is to reduce preventable costs, improve accountability, and ensure public dollars deliver real outcomes. Budgets should reflect lived realities, not just spreadsheets.

What is the most important issue affecting Asheville beyond what is covered here, and what is your plan for addressing it?

The most important issue beyond those already discussed is implementation. Asheville has no shortage of plans or studies. What we lack is consistent follow-through at the scale and speed required to meet the moment.

I plan to focus on execution, accountability, and coordination across departments and partners. People feel the impact of delays, not intentions. Whether it is housing, recovery, transit, or climate resilience, success depends on turning commitments into action.

My leadership approach is grounded in collaboration, data, and outcomes. Asheville does not need more promises. It needs results.

Members of the Democratic Socialists of America “reject an economic order sustained by private profit, alienated labor, discrimination, environmental destruction, and violence in defense of the status quo.” Do you share this belief? Have you acted on these beliefs? If elected, how would these values guide your decisions as a City Councilor?

Yes. I share this belief, and my work and personal life have been shaped by acting on it.

I reject an economic system that prioritizes private profit over human dignity, extracts value from labor without reciprocity of stability or opportunity, and preserves inequity through policy choices that masquerade as “neutral” and “moderate.” Capitalism as we experience it today was not designed for everyone. It is the original AI designed to concentrate power and wealth among white, cisgender, male landowners, and it continues to reproduce those outcomes, more intelligently and intentionally minute by minute, unless deliberately challenged. Asheville’s history makes this painfully clear. Through redlining, urban renewal, displacement, and the systematic dis-investment in Black neighborhoods, our city used the tools of white supremacy to strip generations of Black families of wealth, opportunity, and political power. Those choices echo today in stark racial income gaps, concentrated poverty in majority-BIPOC communities, and unequal access to housing, education, jobs, and health.

In my work as a local nonprofit leader, I have had the honor of serving with and learning from Black colleagues and neighbors over the past five years. I have worked alongside families most impacted by these systems, particularly those navigating housing instability, underfunded schools, and wages that do not even attempt to meet basic needs. That work has made one thing clear: inequity is not accidental. It is the result of policy decisions, budget priorities, and power structures; that means it can be changed through different choices rooted in solidarity, justice, and shared responsibility.

I have also acted on these beliefs personally. My husband and I practice reparations by redistributing thousands of dollars of generational wealth every year directly to local Black families (not through third parties or nonprofits), recognizing that racial wealth gaps are not the result of individual failure but of deliberate extraction and exclusion. For me, justice is not an abstract value–it requires material repair.

If elected to City Council, these values would guide me to consistently ask: Who benefits from this policy, and who bears the cost? I will prioritize policies that expand the public good over private gain: investments in deeply affordable housing, living wages, strong public services, K-12 education, and reparative approaches to past and present harms. I believe government has a responsibility not just to manage scarcity, but to actively dismantle systems of exclusion and build conditions where working people (especially Black, brown, and historically marginalized communities) can thrive. That is the lens I bring to this race, and the standard I will bring to every decision as a City Councilor.

Cost of living is the biggest problem facing working people in Asheville, especially when it comes to the essentials: housing and health care. What are your plans take to make these human rights accessible to people in Asheville?

Housing and health care are human rights, and the cost-of-living crisis in Asheville directly sustaining barriers to both is the result of policy choices that have allowed basic needs to be treated as commodities rather than necessities.

My understanding of health care access is deeply personal. Three weeks before Hurricane Helene, I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Even with systemic advantage, insurance, and access to care, navigating our health system while managing a severe chronic illness was overwhelming, expensive, and at times frightening. The barriers were constant – extreme costs, delays, coordination failures – and that experience made it painfully clear how inaccessible and punitive this system is for people without resources, flexibility, or stable housing. It reinforced my belief that health outcomes are not just shaped by the medical care you receive, but by housing stability, income, environmental conditions, and public investment.

On housing, I believe we are at a collective crossroads. We can continue to accept the fiction that housing is “naturally” priced the way it is, allowing non-human entities like large property management companies to outbid local buyers, scoop up homes above market rates, and then charge exorbitant rents that extract wealth from our community. Or we can agree that safe, accessible housing is a human right and begin moving policies forward that treat it as such.

I support a city role that actively prevents extreme pricing, reduces speculation, and shifts wealth and opportunity back into communities that have been systematically stripped of it. That means expanding deeply affordable housing, protecting renters from displacement, and making decisions that prioritize families and children, so that one in six children in Asheville is not growing up in poverty. Housing policy must be judged not by market metrics alone, but by whether it allows people to live, work, raise families, and age with dignity in the communities they call home.

As a City Councilor, my approach will be grounded in values and rigorous governance. I am committed to reading the full reports and presentations, understanding the data, researching best practices, and actively listening to community members. I am a fast reader, a deep learner, and someone who approaches decision-making with curiosity, discipline, and care. I believe good policy comes from combining lived experience, community wisdom, and evidence, and then voting in alignment with justice, dignity, and the public good.

If we want Asheville to be a place where working people can truly live (not just survive!) we must be willing to make decisions that prioritize people over profit. That is the lens I will bring to every vote on housing, health, and cost-of-living issues.

Our communities are not safe when people can be snatched from the street by unidentified ICE agents. What are you doing to combat ICE raids? What are the best strategies available to city council?

Our communities are not safe when people can be detained or disappeared by unidentified federal agents simply for existing in public space. Fear does not create safety . . . trust does. When immigrant neighbors are afraid to go to work, take their children to school, seek medical care, or participate in civic life, the entire community is harmed.

This issue is not abstract to me. I am of Puerto Rican heritage, I speak Spanish, and I have deep personal and professional relationships within immigrant communities here in Asheville and with friends and family across the country. My husband is also an immigrant; his family came to the United States from England in the 1970s! Immigration is part of the lived experience of people I love, and I understand both the humanity of migration and the harm caused when people are treated as threats rather than neighbors.

While City Council does not control federal immigration enforcement, we are not powerless. Cities make choices about cooperation, use of public resources, and the boundaries we set around local governance. I support clear policies that prohibit the use of city-owned facilities, lots, and parks as staging areas, processing sites, or operations bases for civil immigration enforcement. The city can also ensure public property is clearly marked to prevent unauthorized use, make “know your rights” resources widely available to city employees, tenants, and community members, and support standardized signage for private property owners who wish to restrict immigration enforcement on their land.

These strategies matter because federal overreach does not just harm immigrant families, it undermines disaster recovery, destabilizes local businesses, diverts public resources, and erodes trust in local government. True community safety depends on people believing they can engage with their city without fear of detention or separation.

As a City Councilor, I will support policies that limit city involvement in federal immigration enforcement to what is legally required, protect personal data, and invest in partnerships with trusted community organizations. Asheville can and should be a place where people belong, where families are not criminalized, and where safety is rooted in dignity, transparency, and accountability.

City Council decides the budget. What programs or investments would you expand, and what would you cut or deprioritize, to better serve working-class residents of Asheville?

A city’s budget is a moral document. It tells us who we believe matters. For me, that includes working-class residents and BIPOC communities who have long been marginalized and under-resourced.

To better serve these neighbors, I would prioritize investments that reduce household costs and expand stability, including deeply affordable housing, tenant protections, public transit, childcare, public health, and worker-supportive infrastructure. These are the foundation that allows people to work, care for their families, and participate fully in civic life.

Investing in education and youth services is central to this vision. North Carolina has long disinvested in students, especially those in communities facing poverty and structural barriers. As a city, we have the power to model a different approach: ensuring children are not living in poverty, wondering where their next meal will come from, normalized to violence, or struggling to access healthcare, transportation, and opportunities to learn and play. What our city looks, sounds, and feels like in 5, 10, or 20 years depends on how we invest in, lift up, and care for the children among us.

I support expanding funding for deeply affordable housing, anti-displacement efforts, reliable transit, and programs that support children and families, including literacy, youth enrichment and childcare. I also believe in funding community-based organizations that already have trust and impact in their communities.

At the same time, we should critically examine spending that prioritizes enforcement, punishment, or administrative expansion without clear public benefit. Resources should be redirected toward prevention, care, opportunity, and the long-term well-being of children and families. Budget decisions should always be evaluated through a simple question: does this make life more affordable, more stable, more safe, and more humane for working-class and BIPOC residents in Asheville?

What is the most important issue affecting Asheville beyond what is covered here, and what is your plan for addressing it?

Let’s talk about democratic trust and a sense of belonging.

Beyond the issues already covered, I believe one of the most urgent challenges facing Asheville is a growing erosion of trust – trust in government, trust that decisions are made transparently, and trust that everyday people actually have a voice. We need courageous, caring, community-focused decision makers who recognize this and work towards being in a trusting relationship with the community.

Too many residents feel that decisions happen to them, not with them, especially renters, young people, immigrants, and communities historically pushed to the margins. That disengagement is not apathy; it is the result of systems designed with barriers to ensure lack of access and lack of response.

My plan is to help rebuild civic trust by governing differently: centering community voice early in decision-making, not after decisions are effectively made; ensuring meetings, materials, and processes are available and easier to understand; and treating public engagement as essential infrastructure, not a box to check. I also believe in being a Councilor who continues to show up in community spaces, in hard conversations, and in accountability when decisions have real impacts.

A city that works for working people requires more than good policy. It requires a government people believe belongs to them. Rebuilding that sense of shared ownership is essential to making progress on every other issue we care about.

Members of the Democratic Socialists of America “reject an economic order sustained by private profit, alienated labor, discrimination, environmental destruction, and violence in defense of the status quo.” Do you share this belief? Have you acted on these beliefs? If elected, how would these values guide your decisions as a City Councilor?

Yes, in substance. I reject an economic order where private profit comes before working people, where discrimination is normalized, and where environmental harm is treated as the cost of doing business. At the city level, that means a simple standard. Do our policies shift stability and power toward workers, renters, and historically excluded communities, or do they protect the status quo.

I have acted on these values, and I have led on them. I was the principal author and strategist behind Asheville’s municipal reparations framework, and I wrote the public policy that became the unanimous 2020 reparations resolution. That work was designed to be community driven and focused on addressing generational wealth disparities and institutional harm. Nationally, I also wrote the policy and helped design the community led process that produced Tulsa’s official municipal apology for the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. That process centered residents, and the effort later received public support from leaders including Jesse Jackson, but the policy and the pathway were driven by the work I wrote and organized.

On City Council I also pushed tangible changes like raising wages for city workers, Ban the Box to reduce discriminatory hiring barriers, building equity capacity inside local government, and reforms to make contracting and city decisions more fair, transparent, and accountable.

Cost of living is the biggest problem facing working people in Asheville, especially when it comes to the essentials: housing and health care. What are your plans take to make these human rights accessible to people in Asheville?

Housing and health care should be treated as human rights, and the cost of living crisis in Asheville is a policy choice as much as it is a market outcome. The city cannot control every variable, but it does control the rules, the land, the budget priorities, and the speed and fairness of decision making. That is where I would act.

On housing, my plan is to increase supply while locking in affordability and preventing displacement. That starts with missing middle housing, ADUs, and clear, standards based approvals that allow housing to be built when it meets objective rules. Delay is a hidden tax that drives up rent, so I support a public permitting dashboard with service targets, stronger pre application checklists, and accountability for timelines. We also already have a community land trust, and I want to scale it as permanent affordability infrastructure with a steady pipeline of land and units. The city should use public land strategically, partner with the land trust and other mission driven builders, and use shared equity and deed restricted affordability so that when public dollars or public assets are involved, the result is permanent affordability and long term protections. I will also prioritize anti displacement strategies tied to redevelopment and stabilization in historically impacted neighborhoods.

On health care, the city does not run hospitals, but it can expand access and reduce barriers through partnership and planning. I will work with Buncombe County, federally qualified health centers, and local providers to expand neighborhood level care, including more clinic capacity where people live, mobile services, and better coordination for uninsured and underinsured residents. I support stronger behavioral health response so crises are met with care instead of punishment, and I will align homelessness response with treatment pathways and supportive housing. The city can help by making it easier to locate clinics and supportive services and by investing in the basics that shape health directly, living wages, safe infrastructure, water reliability, and public spaces that work.

The through line is simple. Use the levers the city actually controls to make housing cheaper and faster to produce, make affordability permanent when the public is investing, prevent displacement, and bring health services closer to people with clear accountability for outcomes.

North Carolina consistently ranks as one of the worst states to be a worker. How have you engaged with labor movements and unions? What are their biggest concerns and how will you help address them as a City Councilor?

I have engaged with labor in a direct, accountable way. In my first City Council race in 2015, I earned the endorsement of the AFL CIO. In office, I did not just vote for worker measures, I led on them. I pushed to raise the city’s living wage and I led the effort to raise firefighter pay. At the time, these were not always popular positions inside City Hall, but I believed then and I believe now that a city that runs on working people has a moral and practical obligation to pay them fairly and treat them with respect.

The biggest concerns I hear from workers and union members are pay that does not match the cost of living, rising housing costs that erase wage gains, understaffing and burnout, safety and equipment needs, fair scheduling, and whether the city uses its contracting power to reward low road employers. There is also real frustration that too many decisions get made without workers at the table.

As a City Councilor, I will address those concerns by continuing to raise standards inside city government and using the city’s purchasing and contracting power to lift standards across the local economy. That means strong wage and benefit expectations for city contractors where the law allows, responsible bidder rules that do not reward labor violations, clear labor and safety requirements on major projects, and transparent enforcement when contractors break the rules. It also means protecting staffing and equipment for frontline workers like firefighters, and making sure city decisions on development and budgeting are aligned with working people’s reality, especially housing stability and reliable basic services. I will meet regularly with labor and worker organizations and treat their input as essential to how we set policy, not as an afterthought.

City Council decides the budget. What programs or investments would you expand, and what would you cut or deprioritize, to better serve working-class residents of Asheville?

With a roughly thirty million dollar budget gap, we should treat this as a belt tightening year and protect the core systems that keep Asheville functioning. I would hold the line by pausing or deferring a wide range of non infrastructure spending and avoiding new recurring commitments until we stabilize the base budget.

I would protect and prioritize water and sewer reliability, stormwater, roads and sidewalks, drainage, slope stability, and emergency communications, along with the staffing capacity that delivers these projects and keeps permitting and inspections moving. Cutting these areas usually costs more later and turns preventable failures into emergencies.

To create real savings that carry into the next budget, I would phase lower priority items later in the budget cycle with clear triggers and council oversight instead of fully funding them on day one. I would also hold the line on overhead by extending tight controls on discretionary travel, training, non essential purchases, and administrative expansion.

I would scrutinize and reduce spending that does not produce measurable benefits for working people. That includes corporate style incentives or subsidies without enforceable public benefits, repeated consultant driven work that does not accelerate real delivery, and vanity projects that concentrate resources while neighborhoods struggle with basics. For large service contracts, I would push performance based terms and transparent cost drivers so increases are earned through outcomes, not treated as automatic.

The guiding principle is simple. Protect infrastructure and delivery capacity, pause and phase non essentials for one year, and use discipline and accountability to lower the baseline so the next budget starts in a stronger position.

What is the most important issue affecting Asheville beyond what is covered here, and what is your plan for addressing it?

The most important issue beyond what is covered here is government performance and implementation. Values matter, but results matter too, and working people suffer when city systems are slow, inconsistent, or unreliable. Asheville cannot recover or stay livable if the city cannot execute.

My plan is to rebuild an execution culture that delivers. I served five years on City Council and I led with results year after year, starting within my first two weeks in office. I know how to move policy from debate to implementation, and how to hold systems accountable for delivery.

As a Councilor, I will set clear performance targets for permitting, inspections, and basic service response, and I will publish public dashboards so residents can track timelines, costs, and progress. I will strengthen internal project management so capital projects and recovery work are delivered on time and on budget, and I will push predictable, standards based rules that speed up approvals when projects meet objective requirements. I will focus relentlessly on infrastructure reliability and resilience, with transparent milestones so neighborhoods know what is getting fixed, where, and by when.

If the city can execute, we can make progress on everything else. If it cannot, nothing else will matter. Results matter!

Members of the Democratic Socialists of America “reject an economic order sustained by private profit, alienated labor, discrimination, environmental destruction, and violence in defense of the status quo.” Do you share this belief? Have you acted on these beliefs? If elected, how would these values guide your decisions as a City Councilor?

I believe that an economic system driven solely by private profit, without strong democratic safeguards and accountability, produces harm. Our history clearly outlines those dangers, from worker exploitation to environmental destruction and inequitable access to basic necessities. Government has a distinct and necessary role: to correct market failures, protect the public interest, and ensure that everyone has access to the essentials of a dignified life.

I have acted on these beliefs by supporting strong public services, worker protections, environmental safeguards, and policies that prioritize people over profit. I believe local governments must operate transparently and democratically to counter the worst impacts of unchecked corporate power, particularly where monopolies control essential services like health care and energy.

As a City Councilor, these values guide me toward pragmatic, people-centered governance, using the tools available to local government to regulate fairly, invest wisely, and ensure public decisions serve the common good, not narrow private interests. I also believe it’s important to remain accessible and accountable to residents.

Cost of living is the biggest problem facing working people in Asheville, especially when it comes to the essentials: housing and health care. What are your plans take to make these human rights accessible to people in Asheville?

The cost of living (especially due to housing, health care, and energy) is a defining challenge for working people in Asheville. While North Carolina limits local authority, cities still have real tools to expand access and affordability, and it’s important they advocate for stronger protections at the state and federal levels as well

On housing, I support increasing supply, especially for lower-income residents, while protecting existing affordable housing and using public land and public investment to create long-term affordability. The county’s Coxe Avenue affordable housing development is one example of this approach in action. These efforts also include zoning reforms, infrastructure alignment, and strong partnerships with nonprofit and public housing providers; tools I’ve worked on directly as a member our county’s Affordable Housing Subcommittee.

On health care, local governments must ensure access wherever possible through public health investment, preventive care, and services that reduce barriers for uninsured and underinsured residents. As a County Commissioner, I’m proud we provide free vaccines and essential services through our health department. These necessities should be treated as public goods, not profit centers. I’ve also consistently stood with Mission Hospital workers to demand accountability, safe staffing, and quality care.

On energy, I’ve spent much of my career working in the environmental movement to hold Duke Energy accountable for rising rates and over-reliance on fossil fuels. We need affordable, clean energy that protects residents from volatile costs, while also reducing emissions and putting the public interest ahead of corporate profit.

North Carolina consistently ranks as one of the worst states to be a worker. How have you engaged with labor movements and unions? What are their biggest concerns and how will you help address them as a City Councilor?

My support for labor and collective bargaining is long-standing and personal. As a student at NC State, I marched for collective bargaining rights for public sector employees and worked to support university workers. My first job was a union job at UPS, where I experienced firsthand how unions deliver fair wages and benefits. Our union even registered me to vote.

I’ve been a union member through multiple stages of my career, including with the Progressive Workers Union at Sierra Club, and I am currently a proud union member at my current job NRDC, where I voted in favor of forming the union and aligning with The Washington-Baltimore News Guild CWA Local 32035. While working in nonprofit management at a previous employer, I was an early collaborator in a years-long effort to unionize in order to improve working conditions, even when it came at personal professional cost.

As a City Councilor, I will continue to support worker protections, fair wages, safe working conditions, and the right to organize. I will work with unions to understand their concerns and ensure city policy reflects respect for labor in a state with a long history of worker suppression.

City Council decides the budget. What programs or investments would you expand, and what would you cut or deprioritize, to better serve working-class residents of Asheville?

The City Council’s most important responsibility is the budget, and it’s where values meet reality. Asheville faces a significant projected budget shortfall, and those constraints must be taken seriously to maintain effective government and public trust.

I believe that local government should be a force for good, delivering high-quality, reliable public services. As a County Commissioner during a difficult post-disaster budget season, I helped ensure no workers lost their jobs across county government and local schools, while also supporting cost-of-living increases. Our workforce is our strongest asset.

On City Council, I would prioritize investments that directly improve life for residents: housing stability, worker support, public health, transportation, and core services. At the same time, I would be disciplined about deprioritizing spending that does not measurably improve residents’ quality of life.

My budget priorities reflect both the climate crisis and long-term fiscal responsibility. I support investing in staff capacity to deliver already-funded bike, pedestrian, and greenway projects; planning and sustainability staff to improve flood resilience; clean water and watershed protection; building efficiency and clean-energy upgrades; and fleet electrification. These investments reduce long-term costs, improve safety, and cut pollution.

Local government staff deserve a living wage that allows them to live in the community they serve. Beyond that, rather than expanding ongoing obligations without stable funding, new revenue should focus on one-time or cost-saving investments that strengthen resilience and affordability. Asheville deserves strong public services and also shared public goods that support a vibrant, joyful and healthy community, while creating dignity and beauty. Our neighbors deserve both bread and roses.

What is the most important issue affecting Asheville beyond what is covered here, and what is your plan for addressing it?

Beyond these issues, the most pressing challenge is preserving democratic institutions and public trust during a time of national political instability and rising authoritarianism. Local government must be steady, transparent, and accountable, especially when higher levels of government fail to act responsibly.

My approach is pragmatic and coalition-focused. I work across jurisdictions and political lines to protect our community, secure resources, and deliver results, whether in Raleigh, Washington, or regional partnerships. This is not about symbolic gestures, but about using diplomacy, persistence, and democratic processes to improve people’s lives. That is what I’ve done as a Buncombe County Commissioner and that is what I will do on Asheville City Council.

Strong local democracy is our best defense and our best tool for building a more just future.

Members of the Democratic Socialists of America “reject an economic order sustained by private profit, alienated labor, discrimination, environmental destruction, and violence in defense of the status quo.” Do you share this belief? Have you acted on these beliefs? If elected, how would these values guide your decisions as a City Councilor?

I believe in the power of people. And although I wish we lived in a society where altruism ruled and people acted out of kindness and kinship for one another. That hasn’t been my experience throughout my travels. Private profit is probably the greatest motivate for most people. It’s nearly impossible to live a life without some level of environmental destruction or at least alteration. Alienation, discrimination, and violence are facts of the human condition.

I believe it is governments role to temper the negative impacts we all have on others as we pursue life, liberty and happiness. It is also our duty as American citizens to challenge the status quo when the status quo is not providing equal opportunity to all. It’s our duty as Americans to organize and participate in making government live up to it’s ideals.

As a potential member of our city government I will strive to put the general community welfare first in all decisions. We are stewards of our community and our environment. It’s our duty to leave both better for the next generation.

Cost of living is the biggest problem facing working people in Asheville, especially when it comes to the essentials: housing and health care. What are your plans take to make these human rights accessible to people in Asheville?

Cost of living has risen and continues to rise. We area very small part of networked economies that stretch across the globe. As a city, we can most directly address affordability through our housing supply, access to economic opportunity, and transportation costs.

Transportation is the quickest way we can address affordability. I have proposed that we focus our resources on increasing the service along the bus routes that provide ridership for the greatest number of residents along our existing corridors. I’ve also proposed on demand micro transit (think ARTs very one Uber shuttles) to expand service reach and utility.

I propose to expand Economic Opportunity through encouraging outside investment and building up local entrepreneurs. We should foster a placed based economy by building permanent neighborhood farmers markets to support our agricultural, culinary, and entrepreneurial spirit in our neighborhoods. We need to partner with public education institutions to build a local talent base, increase service base learning, and skills training.

To create more affordable housing we need to create more housing at all levels in our neighborhoods, along our existing corridors, and especially in our urban core. We need to update the zoning code by replacing envelope restrictions with Floor to Area Ratio planning to provide development and design flexibility for our widely varied lots. We also need to include density bonuses for the developments we want to see including microgrids, renewable energy, affordable housing, mixed uses, and transit oriented development. With in our neighborhoods, we need to follow through on the Missing Middle Housing plan which has been languishing because of us vs. them gridlock.

North Carolina consistently ranks as one of the worst states to be a worker. How have you engaged with labor movements and unions? What are their biggest concerns and how will you help address them as a City Councilor?

I owe all my personal success to unions and the protections of collective bargaining. My father was a union carpenter all my life and is now enjoying a well earned pension. My mother, a university librarian, put my brother and I through university with the benefits of her position. I would not have been able to afford to become an architect without that support from both of my parents. I maintain an open door to all unions and support collective action from the working men and women who make our city run.

Our communities are not safe when people can be snatched from the street by unidentified ICE agents. What are you doing to combat ICE raids? What are the best strategies available to city council?

The City Council needs to follow the constitution and start preparing for this possibility now by supporting our local law enforcement, educating everyone about our rights as citizens and residents, and engaging with our local immigrant community. As we have seen elsewhere, our local law enforcement are the glue that will hold our community together if outside forces sow chaos on our streets. ¡Todos juntos ahora!

City Council decides the budget. What programs or investments would you expand, and what would you cut or deprioritize, to better serve working-class residents of Asheville?

The City needs to turn its wealth of land and building resources into assets. Land leases and public private partnerships can be used to address community needs while getting maintenance and costs off the City’s books. We can have a scarcity mindset and cut programs we all rely on or we can look through the lens of abundance and empower the business and cultural community to help.