(Left to right) Ellen Frost, Mike Fryar, Christina Kelly Merrill and Carol Peterson answer voter questions during a candidates forum held in Black Mountain by the League of Women Voters for Asheville and Buncombe County. Voters in District 2 will select two of the four to represent them on the commission. Angie Newsome/Carolina Public Press

With new district-based voting changing Buncombe County Board of Commissioners are elected, four candidates vying to represent District 2 answered voter questions on Oct. 8 during a forum held in Black Mountain.

Ellen Frost, a Democrat; Mike Fryar, a Republican; Christina Kelly Merrill, a Republican; and incumbent Carol Peterson, a Democrat, discussed promoted opinions and responded to top-of-mind questions from voters — everything from greenways and job creation to business recruitment and incentives. Their new district, which includes northern and eastern Buncombe County, includes Barnardsville, Black Mountain, Fairview, Swannanoa and Weaverville.

Go here and enter your name to find your district and to view your sample ballot.

The forum, presented below, was organized by the League of Women Voters for Asheville and Buncombe County, which coordinated a series of events highlighting local candidates for Buncombe County offices and N.C. House races. Carolina Public Press joined Mountain Xpress, The Urban News, News Radio 570 WWNC and 880 The Revolution as a series co-sponsor. The forums were moderated by Jerri Jameson, the former news director for Clear Channel Asheville.

YouTube video


Special Report

Visit ELECTION 2012 for Carolina Public Press’ election coverage.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. You may republish our stories for free, online or in print. Simply copy and paste the article contents from the box below. Note, some images and interactive features may not be included here.

Angie Newsome was the executive director and editor of Carolina Public Press. Contact her at (828) 774-5290 or e-mail her at anewsome@carolinapublicpress.org.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *