Western North Carolina is synonymous with the Blue Ridge Mountains, a rich Appalachian history, and world-renowned tourist destinations.
In fact, over the last 2 years, Asheville Regional Airport has pumped more than 2 million visitors in and out of the Asheville area. However, Asheville is also becoming synonymous with a few other things as of recent — violent crime, an exploding homeless crisis, and an affordability problem.
For the purposes of this op-ed, we will focus on the violent crime and homeless crisis.
Unfortunately, the two subjects go hand in hand. As a resident of the Asheville area for the last 9 years, I see it every day.
Here’s a taste of some of the headlines Asheville residents have been blessed with over the last couple of years.
— Dog disemboweled in north Asheville park by homeless individual while horrified owners watch
— Tourist beaten in downtown Asheville in broad daylight
— Tourist stabbed with hypodermic needle for refusing to give homeless individual money
— Jewish Asheville residents beaten at public library during anarchist gathering
That’s just a smattering of the insanity that’s turning Asheville into the wild west of North Carolina.
Asheville’s police department has been understaffed for several years. This directly followed the 2020 George Floyd riots, which brought hundreds of protesters into downtown Asheville, along with hundreds of thousands of dollars of damage to local businesses. Ironically, many of those same downtown local businesses decided their best move was to sign a letter condemning the police department as racists and Nazis for what happened in Minnesota. Taking the hint, 39% of Asheville’s police officers realized that now was the time to throw in the towel.
The narrative of all cops being “racists” and “Nazis” was now fully engrained into the minds of most on the far left. And with no support from the community, and more specifically the city council, cops retired and quit at a rate never seen before. About 40% of the force was gone in an instant. Maybe one of the worst things we saw during the protests was when far-left activists delivered a casket filled with dirt and manure to the front door of the police department.
The mayor and city council had fake headstones with their names etched on them in their front yards along with mounds of trash. Some councilmembers have had their cars and homes vandalized. The culprits were some of the very same people that put them in office.
The downward spiral had begun.
So, what got us here?
Well, good governance got replaced by “feel good” governance. Instead of investment into the city’s infrastructure and core services, that money instead went to “feel good” pet projects and investments in “green” initiatives that have ultimately cost taxpayers millions with little return on investment.
Recently, a “Business Improvement District” was established in the downtown area. Essentially a special tax placed on business owners in the district. That tax money is earmarked for public safety and cleanliness efforts. The same public safety that is the core function of government to begin with… So we’re just paying for it twice now.
The police department is slowly recovering from the massive loss of officers. The businesses that once signed onto a letter condemning the police seemed to have quickly changed their feelings about the police after a surge in property crime, especially in the downtown district. Sadly, the city remains on the same trajectory it has been on for the last decade and a half. And the far left prevails in Asheville still.
As the stories of tourists being stabbed by crazed homeless individuals with hypodermic needles make the rounds on local news stations all around the country, tourism numbers will undoubtedly be affected. But the greater effect will be on the residents and taxpayers who will no longer go downtown to eat at their favorite restaurants or take their families to gatherings at Pack Square. They don’t think its safe… and they very well may be right.
So how does Asheville recover its image? How do they change the public sentiment on public safety? How does Asheville become the “crown jewel” of the mountains once again?
Do the opposite of what they did to get into this mess. That’s how they fix it.
Focus your collective efforts on what Asheville needs and not what Asheville needs to feel good.
Invest in proven infrastructure. Green initiatives are fine when they are proven methods of fully replacing technology that might be deemed antiquated or environmentally unfriendly. But when those “initiatives” cost taxpayers a fortune and they don’t work, it’s a lose/lose situation.
Invest intentionally in public safety. Make a conscious effort to make public safety a priority. A band aid here and there isn’t going to fix it. Thankfully the police department is under the command of a fantastic chief who has a dedicated group of officers. But they need more. More financial investment for salaries and recruitment, public safety technology, and resources for training.
These are only a couple of things needed to get back on track. Establishing a strong foundation of core services is essential to returning Asheville to its crown jewel of the mountains status.
Make accountability and transparency the norm instead of the chaos management the taxpayers have become accustomed to.