From Staff Reports

Candidates for Buncombe County sheriff and district attorney squared off for the first time during a Sept. 25 voter forum at the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce. 

The forum was organized by the League of Women Voters of Asheville-Buncombe County.

In the sheriff’s race, incumbent Democrat Van Duncan and Republican challenger Mike Bustle disagreed over the budget and school safety.

Duncan was first elected Buncombe sheriff in 2006, succeeding Bobby Medford, who was later convicted of extortion, money laundering and illegal gambling.  Duncan said he inherited an office that was a mess — and has since turned it into “an office known for it’s best practices.”

In contrast, Bustle, who previously served as chief of the Lake Lure Police Department, said that he’d like the office to slash its budget “and do more with less.”

Regarding specifics on what he would cut in the budget and if he would terminate staff, Bustle said he was not prepared to mention specifics at this time.

“It’s difficult looking from the outside in to determine at what point and positions you would cut,” Bustle said. “I’m not interested in cutting any positions at all. There would be a review. I am about saving money.”

Duncan reported that the department’s budget has risen from $25 million to $32 million. “I feel I’ve been very fiscally responsible,” he said.

As for school safety, Bustle charged that Buncombe schools “are far more dangerous than any of the schools in Charlotte, Raleigh, Durham … and these are much larger cities. And yet statistically, we’re far exceeding them on issues of drugs and violence.”

He added, “Give me the opportunity — and I will stop these statistical reports.”

While Duncan did not disagree that some of the statistics are high, he did disagree with Bustle’s conclusions To that end, Duncan credited school resource officers with doing a particularly good job of reporting problems.

“More interacting means more reporting of incidents, and I think that’s what you’re seeing,” he said. “I think our schools are probably the safest in North Carolina.”

In the county district attorney’s race, Todd Williams, who beat longtime incumbent Ron Moore in the Democratic primary this spring, emphasized — during the debate — his role in that win, along with his experience as a public defender, in his pitch to be district attorney.

In the Nov. 5 election, he faces a challenge from Ben Scales Jr., a local attorney in private practice who gathered more than 7,900 signatures after the primary to get his name on the ballot as an unaffiliated candidate.

At the debate, Scales emphasized his political independence, noting that he “will enforce the law without regard to politics.”

Scales said that under Moore, the office “has an image problem” and an attitude of “stuff ‘em and ‘cuff ‘em.”

Scales said he would bring “compassion” to the position, focusing resources on prosecuting violent offenders rather than those accused of nonviolent crimes. 

“We need to save the handcuffs for people who are actually hurting other people,” he said.

Notwithstanding, Williams also emphasized the need to “bring a new perspective to the office” in an effort to restore a sense of integrity.

Both candidates said they support the work of alternative court programs, such as drug treatment courts and veterans court. Williams said he thinks the creation of “a mental health treatment court is a fantastic idea.”

Scales said he believes the district attorney is “doing good now” on prosecuting cases of child abuse. “The people who are brought up on child abuse charges are the lowest type of people we’ll come across,” he said.

Williams said he would like to see the creation of a child advocacy center to help ensure children are protected and abusers face justice. Buncombe is the only county in the state that doesn’t have such a center, he said.