From Staff Reports

Two members of Asheville City Council — Kim Roney and Antanette Mosley — did not sign an “open letter” written by Councilwoman Maggie Ullman pledging council’s commitment to fighting crime and supporting the police that was signed by the other five council members on Aug. 10.

Roney was the lone holdout at an Aug. 10 council meeting, but on Aug. 15 offered an amended statement on public safety.

Mosley later explained to the local news media that she declined to sign the public safety letter because she was out of town when the letter was circulated — and did not have a chance to review it in advance.

The Daily Planet emailed both Roney and Mosley on both Aug. 25 and 26 for the rationale for their separate votes. Roney emailed back on Aug. 26 a question about the newspaper’s question, but did not respond further. Mosley did respond by the newspaper’s mid-morning Aug. 28 press deadline. 

However, Roney told Asheville television station WLOS (News 13) on Aug. 19 that the public safety letter signed by council was too limiting — and that it left out a number of key issues that she felt needed to be addressed and included in the letter. 

On Aug. 10, all Asheville City Council members except Kim Roney and Antanette Mosley “signed a letter regarding solutions for public safety in the community. 

The letter mentioned approaches in preventing crime and investing in the police department,” a story on the website PoliceMay.com stated.

As for the Daily Planet’s attempts — via email — to get Roney’s side of the story on her vote against the public safety letter, she responded on Aug. 26 as follows:

“...could you expand on what you’re asking? Are you writing about a specific program? I voted to approve wage increases for public safety departments and for the Bike Safety Grant.” 

Upon receipt of Roney’s question and brief statement, the Daily Planet emailed her back a copy of an Aug. 18 story from News 13 headlined “Asheville councilwoman who declined to sign public safety ‘open letter’ says key issues left out.” However, Roney never responded to the newspaper’s follow-up mail.

Meanwhile, the Asheville Citizen Times on Aug. 17 reported that, “five days after an open letter went public, attesting commitments to public safety and signed by a majority of council, Kim Roney, one of two city council members whose names were absent from the statement, has sent out a letter of her own.”

The ACT also noted that Roney’s letter, billed as an “amendment” to the original letter, “reiterated shared concern but was disappointed that ‘urgency was a barrier to collaboration,’ in reference to the abbreviated deadline of the initial letter — which she said was sent to her by Councilmember Maggie Ullman the night before it went out, with a deadline of the next morning.

“Roney told the Citizen Times that her first response to the initial letter was to ask for more time, both because there were serious issues of which she had shared concerns, but there were also elements she felt were missing.”

The ACT then quoted Roney as saying the following

“Gun violence, violence among our youth and intimate partner violence are really serious issues and I didn’t see that addressed. I didn’t see the issues with neighborhoods and climate emergency being addressed. There are solutions that really needed the spotlight on them.”

What’s more, the ACT stated. “The first letter, which was sent Aug. 10 by Ullman, council’s newest member, was intended to highlight ongoing investments in police, housing, health and downtown.”