Things played out as expected. Residents of Buncombe County in favor of district elections made their points before the county commissioners. They advocated letting the people decide whether they wanted district or at-large elections. The districts would be drawn to coincide with school districts, inasmuch as possible, while upholding Constitutional requirements that they have nearly equal populations. There would be no change in the way the chairman was selected. The proposal would be on the ballot this year to capture the large presidential voter turnout, but the change would not go into effect until 2012.
County Chair Nathan Ramsey made a motion to put the matter on the ballot. The motion died for lack of a second from any of the four Democrat city residents on the board, and the supporters of district elections were pleased to have been given the ammunition they sought for the upcoming campaign season.
