One Asheville mayoral contender, all six city council hopefuls and one Buncombe County sheriff candidate took the stage at the Shiloh Community Center Wednesday afternoon for a forum about issues affecting senior citizens. The event comes as Asheville’s 2026 municipal elections season heats up.
More than 40 community members attended the forum, which was sponsored by AARP and WRES radio.
The candidates included Asheville City Council member Kim Roney, who is running for mayor; Gary Parris, who is running for sheriff; city council members Maggie Ullman, Sheneika Smith and Antanette Mosley, who are running for reelection; and Jeffrey Burroughs, Drew Ball and Keith Young, who are challenging the city council incumbents.
Candidates touched on issues like infrastructure, Hurricane Helene recovery, public safety and the displacement of longtime residents in historically Black communities like Shiloh.
Several mentioned Asheville’s Anti-Displacement and Affordable Housing Project, which the city launched earlier this year. Smith noted City Council’s recent decision to reject Caribou Commons, a proposed 100-unit affordable housing project that residents opposed over concerns that it would lead to gentrification and did not follow Shiloh’s community plan.
“That decision was significant to me because community engagement has to mean something,” Smith said. “Residents shouldn’t spend years helping government develop neighborhood plans only to have them work to disregard [them] when a major development proposal arises.”
On the topic of Helene recovery, several candidates pointed to the city’s investment in building resilience hubs – neighborhood resource centers where residents can find necessities like food and water and access to communication during natural disasters. Ullman noted that resilience hubs can be based at a community center, church or even a private space.
“What if all of those places had satellites so that you could’ve called all of your children to let them know you were safe?” Ullman said. “What if all those places had refrigerators so you could put your medicine in it when you didn’t have power? What if all those places had a phone tree, because if your phone was dead, you couldn’t get your contacts and you knew that you needed to check on everybody? That’s what we’re talking about.”
Mosley referenced some of the things she saw when she visited multiple neighborhoods a day in the immediate aftermath of Helene. She noted that Shiloh and East End – two of Asheville’s historically Bl ack neighborhoods – “had it together the most.”
“And I believe that comes from a history of knowing that government doesn’t always work for you, so you have to make do with what you have to make do,” she told the crowd. “And as a result of that, I believe that your plans are going to be the blueprint for resilience hubs throughout the entire city, so you should applaud yourselves for that.”
Burroughs discussed their experience as an artist based in the River Arts District. They said government needs to earn the trust of the people in order to be effective in recovery and development after a natural disaster.
“It’s the same that I feel like you have in your community, too: Don’t come into my community and tell me what you’re going to do,” Burroughs said. “You can have a seat at our table, and let’s have a conversation.”
Candidates also fielded questions about how to support older community members who want to age in place. Young said taxes are a big part of the equation.
“I’m just going to speak direct – what’s the easiest way to age in place? Keep your home,” he said. “And I’m going to speak directly to it. If we don’t manage our money right, you can’t manage your money right.”
Ball pointed to Asheville receiving $225 million in community development block grant funding, or CDBG-DR funds, from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development after Hurricane Helene. He called the funding a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” for the city to address its housing shortage.
“I think it’s critical that the city put as much of that funding as possible into keeping people in their homes, first and foremost, and then creating housing so that people have a place to call home,” Ball said. “We have to prioritize our communities that have been underinvested in and neglected. I think that’s where we need to look to first; I think they deserve that.”
Seventy-nine-year old Shiloh resident Bennie Norman-McIntosh was among those who attended the event. She said she feels good about what she heard from the candidates, but she wants to see some action, especially on issues like road safety and sidewalks.
“I’m like Obama – I don’t boo. I don’t cheer. I just vote,” Norman-McIntosh told BPR in an interview after the forum, referring to a line the former president frequently used on the campaign trail. “And I vote for the candidate I feel they’re going to show some action and we’re going to have results.”
Norman-McIntosh says she likes to stay active – she plays golf and bridge, goes bowling and exercises often. So it’s important to her that Shiloh is a safe and accessible place for seniors like her who want to get out of their homes and enjoy life.
Fellow Shiloh resident Faye Reynolds said she, too, would like to see the candidates take action on local infrastructure and other quality-of-life issues.
“We want our community to stay clean, and we want the roads fixed and everything fixed,” Reynolds told BPR. “That’s what we want. So that’s what we’re pushing for, and I think that’s what they’re going to do.”
The general election is on Tuesday, November 3.
