Asheville City Councilwoman Robin Cape, who had earlier said she would not seek re-election to City Council, has decided to wage a write-in campaign for her seat.WCQS is reporting that Cape will be a candidate. I don’t have details yet on why Cape has decided to run again.
Cape told the Mountain Xpress back in June that she would not run. Here’s a snippet:
Elected in 2005, Cape cited several reasons for her decision, including life changes stemming from a tumultuous year that saw the death of her father, the breakup of her marriage and the need to get on with a career.
“Truthfully, Council pays very little,” she said. “I’m a recently separated woman with two teenage children looking at college. It’s timely to begin looking at my own career rather than postponing it until I’m 56.”
But Cape also feels it’s time to move the sustainability discussion she has championed into a broader, regional arena.
“I feel I have positioned myself in the past few years that I can play a role in the larger conversation about sustainability,” she notes. “Now how does that work? I don’t know; I’m still figuring it out. There’s some form of consultant business that I have ahead of me in this.”
The very word “sustainability,” Cape maintains, is no longer the oddity it was when she initially ran for City Council. “Everybody who’s running, who I’ve seen running so far, is running on a sustainability platform. Kelly [Miller] is interested in it. Brownie [Newman] is interested in it. The mayor is interested in it. You don’t need me—I’m redundant.”
Cape’s decision means that all three sitting City Council members up for re-election will be running this year. Councilman Carl Mumpower is running for another term, while Councilman Kelly Miller, appointed to his seat last year, is hoping to win his first election.
Cape will add her name to an already long list of candidates seeking one of the three open seats. Asheville Mayor Terry Bellamy is also seeking re-election, while two newcomers are aiming to unseat her.
More as this story develops.
9 Comments
Shame on Robin for pulling a Favre!
oh Biff, silly, you know the only companies that can move to the Paris Hilton of the South must be sustainable, green and LEED certified!
If I read "sustainability" or "green" once more, I think I’ll lose my steak and eggs breakfast (with sarcastic apologies to Stewart David). How about a City Council that works on EMPLOYMENT GROWTH in Asheville, helping companies to provide LIVING WAGES, along with cutting out the nightmarish red tape and add-on taxes that discourages businesses from locating here?
I’m delighted to read that Robin Cape is planning to run again. She has brought new ideas and a fresh approach to city government.
If anyone can win on a write-in campaign, I believe Robin Cape is the person who could pull it off.
oh, the drama
Is a reporter on this story for either of the newspapers?
JBo said over at Scru Hoo that her campaign is in jeopardy due to a budget crisis. I wonder if that has anything to do with it.
I think she’s awful. I would not vote for her or for Carl, even at gunpoint.