Today, Mayor Charlie Worley filed for re-election, again as we predicted here. Worley filed the day after Ashvegas Councilwoman Terry Bellamy signed up to run for mayor.
Worley has been on council for three terms as a regular councilman. He ran twice for mayor before finally winning. The West Asheville native is a likeable guy and good attorney, but he has failed when it comes to leadership.
Ever been to a council meeting? More often than not, it feels like Mumpower is running the show, rather than Worley. I admire Worley’s style – valuing compromise over confrontation. But Worley needs to push his agenda in a much more forceful manner.
I clearly remember that one of Worley’s platform planks when he ran for mayor last time was “regional cooperation.” That has failed – it failed with the civic center, it failed with working with Henderson County, it failed with working with Buncombe commish on the water agreement.
I can already tell that Worley is going to hammer home one point in particular – experience. He’s going to beat fellow competitors (like Bellamy) over the head with his experience as mayor, as a councilman. It may well resonate in a vibrant, growing city where residents fear that development and other changes are verging on growing out of control. It won’t work if he ends up facing another veteran, such as former mayor Leni Sitnick, who many are expecting to run this year.
Worley is a veteran politician who will run a strong campaign, and I may have underestimated his chances earlier. But he lacks leaderhsip. He’ll go down swinging. Still, he won’t win another term.