Asheville Democracy for America endorses Jones and Bothwell for county commission

The members of Asheville Democracy for America have voted to endorse Holly Jones and Cecil Bothwell in the race for Buncombe County Commission.

In the end, the two candidates were endorsed in a near-unanimous vote by DFA-Asheville members, far surpassing the 60% threshold the group had set to ensure that they would focus their efforts only on the candidates who had the members' most enthusiastic support.

The vote came after an open process that began in December, when members were polled about how they wanted to go about endorsing candidates. In February, members were solicited for questions to ask candidates. Then in March the candidates' responses to the group's questionnaire were posted on the DFA-Asheville blog, and members got to talk directly to the candidates in a public meeting.

"We strive to be a member-driven organization," said Doug Gibson, one of DFA-Asheville's volunteer organizers. "And throughout this process we took pains to make sure our members had a say in how we did things as well as an opportunity to weigh in on the endorsements themselves."

The group plans to support Bothwell and Jones through independent advertising and grassroots efforts. They see their independent role as especially crucial this year, when many acknowledge that Buncombe County is at a crossroads with regards to development, and after recent controversies like the Progress Energy power plant have brought attention to open government and energy issues.

Says Gibson, "pro-development groups poured more than $40,000 into last year's Asheville elections, and more than half of it came from organizations based outside Buncombe County. The same forces will be in play in this year's county commission race, and we want to be a voice for people living here who are concerned about out future."

DFA Asheville is a local group associated with Democracy for America, a national organization dedicated to electing socially progressive, fiscally responsible candidates at all levels of government. To find out more about DFA Asheville, visit www.ashevilledemocracyforamerica.org