Randy Flack drops out of chairman’s race

Jason Sandford

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

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Just a week before Buncombe County Democrats were set to elect him chairman of the Buncombe County Democratic Party, the lone candidate for the job – Randy Flack – has backed out of the race. The move has left local Dems scrambling for a candidate for a critical party politics job.

Flack was a shoo-in for the job. He’s risen to prominence on the local scene through his work as the righthand man of Democratic rising star U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler, who defeated incumbent Charles Taylor in last November’s elections.

Apparently Flack had some sort of conflict over continuing work with Shuler and the job as party chairman. He could have done both, but it would have required some extra work and scrutiny regarding ethics rules. So Flack backed out.

That has left local progressive Kathy Sinclair, who had been running for first vice chair, as the likely candidate for party chairwoman. But most of the old school Dems aren’t really comfortable with Sinclair. They’re worried that, with Sinclair as chairman, the progressive arm of the party will take over. And there’s a strong old school contingent of Buncombe County Dems who don’t want that. 

So what’s to be done? We’re not sure, but we’ll keep you updated. This latest upset creates a mess for Democrats who are desperate to get organized and prepared for big elections coming up next year.