Bothwell applies to City Council

Jason Sandford

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

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Asheville City Council is accepting applications for an opening now that Councilwoman Holly Jones has been elected to a seat on the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners (fyi it’s not a commission, it’s a board of commissioners.)

There’s been lots of rumors about who will apply. Well, now we know of one applicant — former Mountain Xpress reporter Cecil Bothwell, who ran an unsuccessful campaign for commissioner earlier this year. Go here to read his application.

Here’s a sample:

What do you consider the most crucial problem, need, or cause for the citizens of Asheville? How would you approach its resolution or champion the cause?

• We need to prepare for a post-tourism economy. We should stop advertising Asheville as a desirable destination and start building a community that works for the current residents. (The brand is well enough established that we can count on plenty of tourists during the transition.) To the extent that we still depend on tourism, we should do everything we can to preserve the attractiveness of the walkable downtown. (This means no Fraga projects. No Ellington. …. hmm, what to do with the BB&T? What’s scrap iron worth these days? Or can we mount solar panels on the entire south-facing surface?)

NO APPROVAL OF NEW BIG PROJECTS DOWNTOWN PENDING ADOPTION OF THE MASTER PLAN.

• More critically, we need to build a green economy.