State lawmakers have passed a bill sponsored by Staate Senator Chuck Edwards from Hendersonville to divide Asheville into city council districts. Word from Raleigh is the bill passed in the senate on a 64-52 vote.
The state House calendar said the bill passed with an amendment and was sent back to the Senate. The Senate was scheduled to be back in session at 5 p.m. Wednesday. It's not clear when they will take it up.the measure.
The House calendar said the bill passed with an amendment and was sent back to the Senate. The Senate is scheduled to be back in session at 5 p.m. Wednesday. It's not clear when they will take it up.
In 2017, the General Assembly approved a law directing Asheville leaders to create the single-member districts. After that, 75 percent of city voters who voted rejected the redistricting idea in a referendum, saying they wanted to keep the current at-large system.
The 2017 law said the General Assembly would draw new maps this year if Asheville didn't.
Republicans who support the change to council districts, including Senator Edwards and former Senator Tom Apodaca, have stated there is not enough representation from Asheville's south side and that most North Carolina cities have councils separated into elective districts.
Senator Edwards represents a large part of south Asheville and southern Buncombe County in the state Senate.
The bill is a "local" bill and is not subject to a veto by Democrat Governor Roy Cooper.
