Ashvegas City Council: Primary election predictions

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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We hope everyone will turn out Tuesday to cast their ballots in the Ashvegas City Council elections, though it’s been one helluva boring race. We can only hope it will heat up once the field is narrowed.

Regardless, it’s time to prognosticate. We at Ashvegas have been watching local elections for a few years, have a horrible track record at predicting outcomes but are nonetheless compelled to dish a little dirt and make a stab at it. So here we go:

Ashvegas Mayor

Is Ashvegas ready for its first ever black female mayor? Its residents better start thinking about it, because Councilwoman Terry Bellamy is going to blast through the primary election as the top vote-getter. That’s our guess, anyway. She’s the leading money-raiser. She’s got Chris Peterson, a former vice mayor and general wheeler-dealer in town, pumping her campaign with cash. And she’s got some neighborhood groups behind her. She’s in.

This is bad news for Mayor Charlie Worley, a man we personally like but are perennially frustrated with. He’s done nothing on the major issues facing our fair city – nothing at all. We’re hearing a lot of discontent about his lack of leadership and believe that those voters will go for Bellamy for change.

The other change agent is Councilman Joe Dunn. “Doctor Joe Dunn,” as he says in his teevee commercial, though the “doctor” part is a stretch. Joe, you were a dentist. Get over it.

Anyway, Dunn makes no bones about his conservative leanings, either in his speech-making or his television commercials, which show him consulting with Sheriff Bobby Medford and Buncombe County Board of Commissioners Chairman Nathan Ramsey, both big-time local Republicans. Dunn has joined the straight-talk express and expects to ride that puppy to primary victory Tuesday.

So we’re picking Bellamy and Dunn to win and move on to the November election decision.

Ashvegas City Council
For the rest of the council field, things get a bit more dicey. There’s something like 10 candidates running for six slots. Those six will move to the November election. Here’s the outlook:

We believe that Holly Jones and Carl Mumpower, both sitting council members, will be among the top three finishers of the six to move on. The top three is important, because history tells us that the top three finishers in the primary will be the three winners in November. It has always been so.

Robin Cape has a reputation as a hard, grass-roots campaigner. Bryan Freeborn has built a solid base among like-minded hippies. Keith Thomson has some money and support. Dwight Butner, the restaurant owner, has a solid downtown base to pull from. Chris Pelly, another neighborhood advocate, is quite strong.

So who will it be for that coveted third slot? We’re picking between Cape and Butner. (flipping a coin) Cape it is.

Who knows what will happen? Get yer butts out and vote on Tuesday.