I just read the Mountain Xpress‘ writeup on candidates for Asheville City Council. I’ve always appreciated this service provided to voters. Unfortunately, I am disheartened. The mayoral race is a joke. Almost all council candidates want to use the force of government to favor certain modes of transportation. They seem to accept that the role of government in a free society is to ignore the Constitution and stop global warming, hypothetical or not. Government creates cash ex nihilo for putting on festivals and funding green initiatives. The best way, they say, to deal with the budget crisis is to sit down with staff and look for cuts. Candidates wish to address a budget shortfall that doesn’t exist, and almost without exception, they favor having the city pay benefits for domestic partners.