From Staff Reports

Opponents of partisan elections in Asheville say they have gathered 6,192 signature on a petition calling for a referendum on the matter ó more than a thousand over the number they needed to make last Monday nightís deadline.

If election officials determine that at least 5,000 of those signatures are valid and from registered city voters, then next fallís City Council elections will not be organized by political parties.

The petition drive sought to overturn councilís 4-3 decision last month to change the cityís election system to one in which candidates affiliated with registered political parties would compete in primary elections, while independent candidates would have to collect more than 2,300 signatures to get on the ballot.

Mayor Terry Bellamy and councilmen Carl Mumpower and Jan Davis had opposed the move.
While supporters of the changes said that the new system would create greater transparency about the role of political parties in municipal elections, critics blasted it for setting what they said were unreasonable hurdles for independent and third-party candidates.

Prior to last month, council elections had been non-partisan since 1994, when a previous council had switched the cityís elections to an open-primary sytsem.

Some supporters of the referendum said they were not necessarily opposed to partisan elections, but thought that it was a question of such magnitude that it should be decided by voters, not by council.

Some critics of the changes also alleged that they were part of a power play by the council members who supported it ó Brownie Newman, Robin Cape, Bryan Freeborn and Vice Mayor Holly Jones. All four are Democrats.

According to voter registration data from May, Asheville has 28,421 registered Democrats, 15,079 unaffiliated voters and 12,722 registered Republicans.

The referendum drive was organized by a group called Let Asheville Vote, which had copies of the petition at numerous businesses in town, as well as at its temporary headquarters in West Asheville.
The Buncombe County Board of Elections now has until July 30 to determine whether enough of the signatures are valid, according to election officials.

If so, some legal analysts say that the changes to the election system would be overturrned and Novemberís election would be held without party primaries. Voters would also be asked whether they want to make the changes in future elections.

City Attorney Bob Oast agreed with this interpretation of the law, but added that he might seek the assistance of a Superior Court judge in interpreting the laws in order to insulate the process from a potential legal challenge.

If the petition fails, a partisan primary will be held Sept. 11. If it succeeds, a nonpartisan primary will take place Oct. 12.

The general election will be held Nov. 6 in either case.