Archive for August 2009
At the August 25 City Council meeting, the Council voted 4-3 to add 4 early voting sites for the 2009 city election to the tune of $44-60K. But what the heck, it’s not their money, right?
Carl Mumpower, Bill Russell, and Jan Davis opposed. We thank them for considering the Asheville taxpayers when making their decision.
Just 1 more fiscal conservative on the Council would have changed that important vote. That is why it is so important to support not only Carl Mumpower’s re-election, but also our Republican Council candidates: J. Neal Jackson and Ryan Croft, as well as our candidate for Mayor, Robert Edwards.
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Robert Malt was officially approved by the BCGOP Executive Committee as our County Chairman. He will serve until the next Convention, at which time the convention delegates will elect a new Chairman.
Robert was previously serving as our 1st Vice Chair, in charge of organization. That role will now be filled by Johnnie Elliott. Johnnie was previously serving as an Area Coordinator.
We also appointed 9 new Precinct Chairs tonight! That will be a big help as we get out the vote for the 2009 municipal races, and will be tremendously important as we work toward organizing the county for the 2010 election.
We are still looking for more Precinct Chairs and other volunteers. Please contact us if you’d like to get involved. We need you!
According to a Carolina Stompers email, Congressman Shuler (D) will be a guest on Matt Mittan on Thursday, August 27 for one hour during his show. And he is rumored to be stacking the calls with “friendly” people.
If you would like to ask the Congressman a question, WWNC radio’s call in number is 828-240-9962.You have 1 minute to ask your question.
Remember, Shuler will not be in our area for face-to-face town hall meetings. He is only having “Tele-Town Hall” meetings. Maybe you can ask him when he’s coming through town to meet the voters.
Dr. Carl Mumpower, our City Councilmember and candidate of principle, forwarded on a survey he received from WNC for Change, a local organization “formed to promote President Obama’s agenda.” Here’s how he responded:
1. What types of development do you think are appropriate for downtown Asheville? What types are inappropriate? Explain.
I believe in supporting the rights of private property owners and have little faith in the capacities of government to effectively and fairly micro manage development. That said, if development laws are passed, they should be enforced persistently and effectively. I do not have a personal view on what downtown property owners should do with their property.2. How would you improve Asheville’s Homeless plan and service system?
Enforce the law more vigorously with predatory panhandlers and divert the current money pool to existing restoration programs (ABCCM, Salvation Army, and WCRM) versus fantasy housing plans that are neither affordable or sustainable.3. What initiatives would you undertake to make Asheville a greener city?
I am more concerned with crime and the harms of our drug culture than making Asheville greener. That said, I recently initiated an action to explore 24/7 climate management in city owned buildings.4. Do you support a living wage for all city employees including contract labor? Domestic partner benefits?
Neither – the first concept does not work (witness the ineffectiveness and political manipulations by both parties associated with the minimum wage program) and we cannot afford the second.5. What are the three best City Council achievements of the past four years?
1) Developing and carrying my mission to fund and complete 50 Top-A-Stop bus shelters in Asheville.
2) Developing and carrying my mission to establish a memorial to our war dead at Memorial Stadium without using city tax dollars.
3) Developing and carrying my mission to establish a program “For Our Kids” in public housing to “find a need and find a way” — we accomplished a host of successes in our 10 developments – again with donations versus public dollars.
4) Developing and carrying my mission to establish a “Asheville Public Artist of the Year Program” and find private funding and assure completion of the first work.6. List and explain three of your priorities for City Council during the upcoming four years.
1) Stop waste and impair Council’s ability to squander other people’s money.
2) Eliminate our open air hard drug markets in public housing and other poor neighborhoods.
3) Resist the progressive intrusions of socialistic policies at the local government level.7. What sets you apart from the other City Council candidates? Explain.
1) My voting record is that of an authentic conservative.
2) I have an independent mind and willingness to work with others or stand alone as necessary.
3) I have no obligations to money, power, party, or special interests.8. If elected, how would you engage the citizenry of Asheville in helping to make decisions and accomplishing your goals?
We do an excellent job of providing transparent and persistent opportunity for citizen involvement in local city government – I would not change a thing we are doing at present. I am proud of my council colleagues for their model of inclusion and transparency.9. Do you support President Obama’s agenda, including his energy, health care and education initiatives? Explain why or why not.
No. Our President is advancing a socialistic model of government that has us robbing one pocket to fill another of special choosing. I have more faith in the model of government created by our founding fathers grounded in an “American Success Equation” of liberty, opportunity, and responsibility.10. Who are the five largest contributors to your campaign and how much did each contribute?
I am accepting no political contributions – either from individuals, PAC’s, or my party. I will not be spending any money on my campaign. Although I will campaign honestly and actively, I have no interests in buying a seat on Asheville’s city council.  Having served 8 active and persistent years, the people of Asheville know my name and what I stand for. I will be very comfortable with the decisions our voters make.
Buncombe County Commissioners Meeting
Where: 30 Valley St. in downtown Asheville
When: Tuesday, August 4, 2009 4:30pm
Speak out to Let Buncombe Vote on zoning! We need everyone to attend and as many as possible who are willing to speak about letting the people vote on zoning in Buncombe County. Organizers are hoping for 100 people. Wear red. If you need more info, please contact Mike at 275-2333 or Nathan Ramsey 768-3216.
If you can’t make it at 4:30pm, please arrive when you can. Public comment happens toward the end of the meeting so arriving late is much better than not coming at all.
Also, call the County Commissioners and let them know you want a vote on zoning. At a minimum, call those commissioners who are more likely to vote our way:
Carol Peterson 242-7621(c), 628-1349(h)
K. Ray Baily 273-1921(c)
Our Republican Principles state: I BELIEVE the strength of our nation lies with the individual and that each person’s dignity, freedom, ability and responsibility must be
honored.
Why do Republicans oppose government-run health care? Many of the arguments over health care – long lines, inferior care, rationed treatments, higher costs – are really focusing on tangents while entirely missing the central problem. What if federally-run health care didn’t produce these things – would you then support it? If you agree with the Republican Principles, you would say ‘no’.
It is our right, granted to us by the Creator (not by government), to make our own choices regarding our own health and well-being and that of our family. And it is our own responsibility to face the consequences of our poor health choices. When the government infringes on our freedoms, it attacks our basic dignity as human beings.
The government is saying to us, “You are not capable of caring for yourself so we will take responsibility for you. We expect that you will make foolish decisions because you are like a child, and we are wise like parents. And since we are responsible for you, we must also tell you how to behave.”
Health care legislation being considered mandates that individuals pay private corporations for health insurance, whether we want it or not, and we will be fined if we refuse. Is this reforming the health care system? Or is it forcing individuals to participate in a broken system? We have already seen cases of parents who are required to give their children treatments that state governments believe is best, rather than what the parents and their child think is best. Do we really want to expand this violation to the federal level?
When asked to defend why you think health care “reform” should be defeated, you don’t need to prove how inefficiently it will run, or that the costs will increase. There is only one thing that matters – they don’t have the right to do it. Our rights are not given to us and taken from us by government. If they were, our nation’s founders would have continued living under the tyranny of the king, instead of fighting and dying for liberty.
