Candidate Questionnaire: Holly Jones

Holly Jones is seeking our endorsement for county commission. Below are her responses to our candidate questionnaire, with our questions in bold.

For more about Holly's campaign, visit her website.

1. In what areas do you think Buncombe could be leading the rest of the country?

I am proud of the work I have done as a member of the Asheville City Council to establish our community as a leader for clean, renewable energy. Asheville has committed to future city facilities to achieve the LEED Gold Standard, which only a handful of other cities in the country have committed to do. We also committed to reduce our cities global warming emissions by 80%, the level which the best science tells us is necessary to avoid the most harmful impacts of global warming on future generations. We have followed up on these good policies with strong actions, such as converting our city’s transit fleet to clean hybrid technologies and inventorying city facilities for energy efficiency opportunities. I want to see Buncombe County become a leader for clean, renewable energy as well.

2. What is your number one priority with regard to development and land use?

It’s clear the piecemeal approach that we have taken to land use and community planning is inadequate to address the challenges of growth. We need a shared vision for how our community and region will grow and develop. The County Commission is the logical body to lead a community-wide process for creating a shared vision and plan for our future. I will make creating a regional plan a top priority on the County Commission. While I believe the specifics of that plan must be based on input from the whole community, core concerns that are important to me include:
· Fostering walkable, bikeable and transit friendly neighborhoods throughout the county.
· Strong incentives for green building.
· Provisions to assure creation of affordable housing.
· Creation of a county-wide network of protected natural areas and greenways.
· Preservation of working family farms.
· Strengthening the economic vibrancy of the downtown areas of all our municipalities.

3. Growth projections for Buncombe are continually revised upward. Have previous approaches to development become obsolete? Would you support a temporary moratorium on development while the county works with municipal governments to prepare for these new projections?

I have seen examples of communities that have relatively low levels of growth that still have major problems with sprawl development, as well as examples of communities that have experienced major growth but who were effective in addressing these challenges. I am concerned that a blanket moratorium would amount to “throwing the baby out with the bathwater.” I see many exciting positive community developments going forward in Asheville that I would not want to see blocked through a moratorium. One example would be projects like the Glenrock Hotel, which will be a major factor in revitalization of our riverfront and will create much needed affordable housing near our key employment centers. I don’t think it will be possible to resolve all the important planning challenges facing Buncombe County in a short period of time and I would have real concerns about the impacts of an open-ended moratorium on any new economic development and affordable housing in our community.

4. How can the county practice environmental stewardship and promote broad-based economic growth at the same time?

I do not support growth for the sake of growth, but I think it’s unrealistic to think that people are going to stop moving to Asheville in the near future. Our goal must be to assure that we shape a pattern of development that reflects our community goals and values. By insisting that new development be as green and energy efficient as possible, improving the energy efficiency of the existing built environment and creating new sources of clean energy, we can place our community on the path of sustainability. Similarly, we should focus new growth in areas within our existing developed landscape, rather than on our best remaining farmland and natural areas. Furthermore, the pursuit of such development is a great forward step in green job creation.

In terms of job creation, the Buncombe County Commission should take a leadership role in our community and I would pursue this avenue of green job creation aggressively. One final concrete example of the marriage of environmental stewardship and economic growth is the promotion of local farmers. Growth of this local food industry is a winner environmentally and economically (not to mention promoting healthier eating habits) and I would advocate Buncombe County pursuing policies that support it.

5. Many of our members want their local governments to lead the way in promoting energy independence and combating global warming. In what ways should the county work towards these goals?

First, we must lead by example. The County should make a commitment to reduce our global warming emissions by 80% by the year 2050. This can be achieved by making more energy efficient building and vehicle fleets and gradually switching out our energy and fuel use to clean, renewable sources. We should also provide strong incentives for all new development in Buncombe County to utilize the highest standards for green building. Furthermore, Buncombe County should lead by example. We should hold ourselves to high energy efficient standards as new county buildings are developed. Finally, the County should strongly work to bring new green collar jobs to Buncombe County so that our citizens can participate fully in the new emerging clean energy economy. To that end, I support the climate services initiative of the Asheville-Buncombe HUB project,, a collaborative regional economic development model. The HUB is a visionary, yet well-grounded, effort to bring green jobs to our community.

6. Do you see a role for the county in promoting energy efficiency in transportation and residential and business use?

Yes. I promoted a policy on City Council to provide a 100% fee permit rebate for new developments that achieve a high standard for green building. I will support this same policy at the County level. I am proud of the role the city has taken to create a more sustainable transportation network, including the implementation of a 90 day ride-for-free transit promotional campaign, new evening transit service, converting our transit fleet to low-emission hybrid vehicles, and supporting the Asheville Design Center’s plans for the I-26 Connector. I believe the County should take a stronger leadership role in transportation planning, including development of an effective park and ride network linked to high-quality transit services for commuters.

7. The county government plays a central role in providing social services. Where has it been most successful? Where does it most need improvement?

Health and human services make up the largest percentage of the Buncombe County budget and thus requires leadership in touch with the needs and priorities being addressed with these dollars. Furthermore, the services delivered in this arena have huge impacts on the daily lives of working families in Buncombe County. I am the candidate who is in touch daily with the real world issues being addressed by this sector. In terms of success, over the last decade, strong and visionary leadership at the Department of Social Services (DSS) resulted in effective partnerships to deliver much needed aid to our most vulnerable. The community partnerships established by DSS with entities such as AB Tech, Mission Hospital, ABCCM, demonstrate a deep commitment by the department to address the root causes of poverty and joblessness and not simply deliver federally mandated services.

The area for improvement I would highlight has to do with the issue of the consolidation of social services and health services. While a valid idea in theory, its ultimate effectiveness is dependent on broad community buy-in. I am concerned this has not happened sufficiently and the consolidation effort has been driven primarily by short-term cost savings. Given that the consolidation is a done deal, I would like to champion its true effectiveness with the community in terms of service delivery and cost efficiencies.

8. Do you think that the current commission has carried out its work in a manner that is sufficiently transparent? If not, how would you change things?

I do not agree with the manner in which the proposal for citing a new Progress Energy power plant on publicly owned land was withheld from public notice for a very long period of time. As a member of the Asheville City Council. I have been diligent in following the open meetings laws of North Carolina. I think such adherence is vital to achieving the public trust. The City Council has often been criticized for the length of our meetings, but I believe it is worth a more extended public meeting if that is what it takes to carry out the people’s business in a fully transparent manner.

9. Has the current commission made decisions that you strongly disagree with? If so, what will you do to remedy those decisions if you are elected?

I have great respect for the citizens who serve on the Buncombe County Commission. I do not agree with all the decisions they make, just as I am sure they do not agree with all the decisions I have made. One issue I particularly did not agree with was with the decision to sell public land in Pack Square Park to a developer.

10. Do you have a plan for how you will win this election? If so, could you briefly describe the elements of your plan?

Yes. I have worked with my team of supporters to create a plan for our campaign that I believe will carry us to victory in the Primary and General Election. I am fortunate to have a great group of dedicated volunteers and supporters. We plan to run a positive, issue oriented campaign. We have set ambitious goals for directly engaging the voters throughout the County through grassroots outreach as well as paid media. We have already achieved many of the key benchmarks we set for our campaign.

11. Would you call yourself a political progressive? Why or why not?

I am proud to count myself as a participant in our country’s long tradition of progressive change. I am proud to live in a community that elected the first female candidate, Lillian Exum Clement, to a state legislature in the Southeastern United States. For the past twelve years I have worked for the YWCA, whose mission is the empowerment of women and the elimination of racism. I bring those same core values to my work as a public official. I also identify with the mission and core values of DFA, which is to support fiscal accountability and socially progressive policies at all levels of government.