Mayoral candidates clash over housing, safety and trust in Asheville

Rent, starter-home access, development approvals and homelessness were not abstract talking points at Asheville’s mayoral forum on May 27. Esther Manheimer and Kim Roney spent the night on the harder question facing Buncombe County voters: whether City Hall can ease housing pressure fast enough to matter in the next term.

The candidates also tied housing to public safety and trust in city government, a sign that Asheville residents are judging the race as more than a debate over zoning language. Manheimer, the incumbent, leaned on continuity after a period shaped by storm recovery and budget strain. Roney argued that voters want a different style of leadership and a more aggressive response to affordability and transparency problems.

That split lands in a city where housing pressure is already visible on every side. On April 28, Asheville City Council approved conditional zoning for the county-backed project at 50 and 52 Coxe Ave., clearing the way for 203 affordable units and about 5,000 square feet of retail on downtown county-owned land. County officials say the project’s next steps are a development agreement and permitting, a reminder that even a major approval is still only one stage in a long buildout.

The broader backdrop is Helene. Buncombe County recovery materials say Tropical Storm Helene made existing housing problems worse and pushed housing to the center of recovery planning. The county’s Helene Recovery Plan includes 114 projects to rebuild housing, repair infrastructure, restore natural resources and strengthen resilience. County documents also describe Buncombe County and Asheville as among the storm’s most hard-hit jurisdictions, with more than 87,000 FEMA Individual Assistance applications, more than 360 homes destroyed and a peak unemployment rate of 10.4 percent in Buncombe County.

Roney, 45, announced her mayoral bid on Sept. 1, 2025. She has served on Asheville City Council since 2020, grew up in Asheville, graduated from UNC Asheville and works as a music teacher and piano technician. Her case to voters is that the city needs a faster, more accountable response to the crisis facing renters and would-be homebuyers.

The numbers show why that message has traction. Realtor.com reported Buncombe County’s median rent at $1,791 a month in April 2026, while the U.S. Census Bureau said renters nationwide paid a median $1,413 a month in 2020 to 2024, up $100 from the prior five-year period. The Housing Authority of the City of Asheville says some applicants may qualify for subsidized housing if household income is at or below 50 percent of median family income.

For Asheville voters, the contrast is likely to come down to timelines and tradeoffs: whether to trust the city’s current course, or demand a harder push to produce housing, speed approvals and restore confidence that the next round of decisions will keep more residents in the city they call home.