Asheville City Councilman-elect Cecil Bothwell

12 Comments

1. 

   Real Republican November 21, 2009

   In 2011 we have a surprise for you Mr. Bothwell.

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2. 

   Ken November 20, 2009

   Your question, ("how does Mr. Bothwell… expect to replace Jan Davis") is misguided.

   I don’t see in the above comments that Cecil personally plans to replace Jan Davis. The quote is "we need to replace people." I believe what Cecil meant by "we" is Asheville City voters.

   I respect (and have voted for) Jan Davis, but there’s no guarantee that he come in first in the voting every single time, or that he will even maintain his seat. He may do very well in the next election, or he may not. Asheville voters will have their say.

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3. 

   Jan Russell November 17, 2009

   Cecil Bothwell: Consensus maker.

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4. 

   Biff Smeed November 17, 2009

   Bothwell and Smith would do well to focus on more immediate city issues, such as the absence of Hendersonville Road crosswalks and sidewalks that were in part responsible for last week’s death of a 4-year-old child. I’d much rather hear solutions to those problems than pontifications about global warming and homosexual health benefits.

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5. 

   Asheville Momma November 16, 2009

   Cecil Bothwell’s inflated ego and sense of infallibility will be his undoing. His election and Gordon Smith’s I think will send the pedulum swinging wildly back to the right next time around. I actually agree with many of their goals, but I deplore their attitude that anyone who doesn’t see the world their way is defective or stupid. That is not the way to build a longterm coalition that can actually make changes that stick.

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6. 

   Ron November 15, 2009

   There can be efficiencies and new markets in finding green solutions, things that could actually save the city money, make Asheville a more desirable place to live, create new jobs and increase the tax base overall. If conservatives maintain a knee-jerk attitude that new initiatives always mean new taxes, we might not ever have any kind of meaningful change.

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7. 

   GRT November 15, 2009

   I suspect that is Councilman Davis runs for a third term in 2010 he is unlikely to have a whole lot of difficulty retaining his seat but, like stocks, mutual funds, etc. past performance is not a guarantee of future success (Carl Mumpower’s 8,600 votes for a third place win in 2005 did nothing for him two weeks ago) and just as Councilman Newman will have those targeting him, should he run for a third term, so shall Councilman Davis.

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8. 

   Cecil Bothwell November 15, 2009

   Casual conversation, reported somewhat out of context. I was in an ebullient mood during the celebration on election night and just offhandedly suggested those replacements. Jan and Bill and I have had an amusing e-mail exchange about my rash comment. I have no illusions about a mandate or about relative popularity.

   We will all be paying the bills for climate change for a long time – and already occurring as world food prices move up due to spreading water shortages. Those communities which take steps now to address the change will be way ahead. And energy conservation pays off financially in the very short term, as well as creating local jobs that cannot be exported.

   For example, water has become the new oil on a global scale. We have abundant water now, but need to restructure water rates to encourage VOLUNTARY conservation. (Which can reduce water bills for those who CHOOSE to conserve.) Water will have very high economic value and implementing a conservation infrastructure now will have a high pay-off.

   Trash collection: Absolutely. Save money and reduce the carbon footprint by moving to bi-weekly collection, alternating with recycle pickup. This will reduce trash collection costs, reduce fuel use and encourage an increase in recycling. (Recent reports show that Buncombe County is behind the curve on keeping recycles out of the landfill.)

   Save money on police work and move resources to real protection? Decriminalize marijuana use, for one. Also, move patrol duties to GEM cars and other LEVs (as cars are replaced) to reduce fuel costs and carbon footprint. (Most patrol duties are quite routine. Having a smaller contingent of fully equipped squad cars for intervention and arrests, etc. should handle that load. School resource officers probably don’t need to park fully loaded squad cars outside schools all day.

   Not addressing climate change is like ignoring a forest fire burning toward your home while rearranging the furniture and saying that dealing with the fire is just too expensive. Two years ago climate scientists predicted that summer Arctic sea ice would disappear by the end of the century. Now it looks like it will disappear by 2015. Climate change is unquestionably a crisis which has to be addressed everywhere and soon or it will undo us.

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9. 

   Politics Watcher November 15, 2009

   How does Mr. Bothwell, who ran third, with something over 5,000 votes, expect to "replace" Jan Davis, who, in the previous election, ran first, with something over 7,000 votes?

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10. 

    ThePhan November 14, 2009

    i’d like to know more specifically what Bothwell has in mind when he says Davis and Russell "don’t get it." Plus, he was recently quoted in the Citizen-Times as saying that “Reduction of our carbon output must underpin every decision made by Council." What specifically does he mean by that? How would that have changed recent council actions?

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11. 

    Politics watcher November 13, 2009

    Mr. Bothwell, who came in third with ,5,919 votes, talks about "replacing" Bill Russell and Jan Davis in the next election. In the previous election, Davis lead the ticket with 7,659 votes. Russell won 5,579 votes. Does Mr. Bothwell think their supporters are going to disappear?

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12. 

    Real Reporter November 13, 2009

    Just remember who will be footing the bills for local sollutions for climate change enacted by City Council. Taxpayers. By the way, don’t forget the economy is still in rough shape and a lot of folks are hurting. Most city residents want police and fire protection and their trash picked up. Start with maintaining those services without raising property taxes. Saving the world can come after that.

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