Rumor has it: The race for Buncombe commissioners chairman has already started

Buncombe County commissioners aren’t up for re-election until 2008, but the race for board chairman has already started. It’ll be the current chairman, Republican Nathan Ramsey, versus current board member David Gantt, a Democrat.

The two have already been arguing quite a bit about what will be the defining issue of the campaign – zoning. Ramsey is against county zoning. Gantt is for it.

Eight years ago, the young dairy farmer Ramsey pulled the upset by beating incumbent Tom Sobol. How did Ramsey do it? He said he’d oppose zoning all the way. Four years ago, Ramsey beat a weak Ed Hay to maintain his hold on the chairmanship.

Now Ramsey will face Gannt, who has bided his time but has his eyes firmly set on the center chair in the commissioners’ chambers.

You haven’t heard much about it, but the two have already started the political posturing. And it’s all been over zoning. Ramsey has been working to get word out about the zoning meetings, in hopes of stirring up the forces that propelled him to victory in 2000. And those forces remain strong. Despite the evident rape of our mountainsides by unrelenting development, the mountain stubborness against property regulation remains firmly in place.

Ramsey has called out Gantt, essentially challenging him to a debate on the zoning issue. Gantt has yet to agree to such a face-off. But it’s something he’ll have to take on eventually.

Buncombe County commissioners on Tuesday announced a series of meetings to solicit the public’s input on a zoning plan. Once those meetings get rolling, we’ll really start getting a sense of where public sentiment is on this issue. Have residents seen enough erosion disasters and mountainside mcmansions? Or is the mountain mindset of “live-and-let-live” so deeply ingrained that we’ll continue hurtling down our current path?

It’s too early to call this race. But it’s time to pay attention, because the candidates are already running.