When Asheville Mayor-elect Kim Roney is sworn in next month, she will leave behind an open seat on Asheville City Council. On Tuesday evening, Council agreed on a tentative plan for how to fill that vacancy. Roney was originally elected to Council in 2024 and her term was set to expire at the end of 2028.
At Tuesday’s Policy, Finance & Infrastructure meeting, a majority of the existing council said they’d like to pursue a nomination process, rather than an open application. Maggie Ullman, Bo Hess, Sage Turner and Roney, have all explicitly signaled support for nominating the fourth-place finisher from this year’s city council election: Jeffrey Burroughs.
“I think the highest integrity process is the election process that we just had,” Ullman said, repeating a point she raised at a Nov. 5 agenda briefing. “It’s very compelling that the fourth highest vote-getter to serve on this body.
Roney, who will replace Esther Manheimer as mayor, had originally called for an application process at the agenda briefing, but announced a change of course on Tuesday.
“I’ve heard really loud and clear from the public,” Roney said. “I do support the fourth place vote-getter in the vacancy of the seat.”
City law gives Council the sole power to decide on any vacancies. A Nov. 4 memorandum drafted by City Attorney Brad Branham clarified that council members “do not have the authority to conduct a general election” to fill open seats.
Over the last week, as Council members weighed their options, there’s been a growing push among residents to appoint Burroughs. Sunshine Labs, an open government advocacy organization, launched a “Go Forth With The Fourth!” campaign that maintains Burroughs’ appointment would be “the most democratic option available.”
“Our position isn’t about any one candidate’s platform — we would make the same request no matter who finished fourth,” it states on the group’s website.
Nina Tovish was one of several Asheville residents to speak in support of Burroughs’ nomination at Tuesday’s regular Council meeting, which took place directly after the Policy, Finance & Infrastructure meeting.
“I want to assure you that although I have been an eager supporter of Jeffrey Burroughs, I would be here advocating for the same process no matter who had come in fourth place,” Tovish said. “I hope you all will take your guidance from the public that spoke in unprecedented numbers in the last election which was just a week ago concluded.”
Burroughs runs a jewelry shop in the River Arts District. They moved to Asheville from New York City in 2020. They decided to run for office after spearheading recovery efforts for artists in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
They have served as president of the River Arts District Association since January 2024. In the general election, they received 17,337 votes — roughly 2,500 fewer votes than the third place finisher, Antanette Mosley.
In a statement to BPR, Burroughs wrote that they’ve been “actively preparing for this seat for over a year.”
“I am honored by the trust that over 17,000 voters placed in me when they cast their ballot in last week’s election and I’m honored by the trust that my future colleagues are placing in me and the voters by indicating support for my appointment,” they wrote.
