Good Morning, BlueNC. It's been ages since I voyaged onto this front page, and I want you to know I've missed you! The following was posted at Scrutiny Hooligans earlier today, and I'm posting it here as well because I would like to broaden this conversation to include everyone who cares about progressive politics in North Carolina.

Pam Spaulding features my Asheville City Council campaign today at The Blend. In addition to my stances on affordable housing, sustainability measures, and multimodal transportation - I am an unflagging advocate for equality for our LGBT citizens. Here's a teaser, but go read the whole thing:

The gay and lesbian citizens of Asheville deserve equal recognition and equal benefits. To deny these benefits is to relegate gay and lesbian couples to second-class status. We all know that Asheville is a gay-friendly city, and our city government ought to reflect our commitment to honoring the civil rights of all our citizens.

The city of Asheville, North Carolina is a blue oasis in west of North Carolina. Seated in Buncombe County, Asheville has a population of 73,875 (per 2007 Census calculations) and is made up of 41.3 square miles of neighborhoods, industrial areas, forest, and rivers. Famous for its vibrant arts, openmindedness, architecture, environment, and various tourist attractions, Asheville winds up on several top ten lists a year.

This charming, bustling mountain mecca stands at a crossroads in its history. Property value spikes have made purchasing a home all but impossible for many citizens, and finding affordable rentals is also very expensive. Rapid growth and development have threatened our slopes and our public square. Industry after industry has closed up shop, leaving a service-based economy subject to the fluctuations in tourism. An influx of new residents has raised our energy demands to the point that some considered building a diesel-fueled power plant upwind from west Asheville. Cyclists, pedestrians, and transit riders have sought infrastructure improvements for years. City employees have been denied domestic partnership benefits in what's considered one of the gay-friendliest towns in the southeast. The DOT threatens to raze a historic neighborhood that only recently began winning its fight against drugs and violence.

I'm running for Asheville City Council because I want to help create more affordable housing and a more sustainable economy, environment, and community. I'm writing this post at BlueNC because I need your help.

Asheville Citizen-Times:

Buncombe County GOP Chairman Timothy Johnson is running for N.C. Republican vice chairman today at the state party convention in Raleigh. Delegates will select a vice chairman and chairman to the lead the badly battered GOP, which suffered serious losses from the federal level on down in last year's elections.

The leadership race has been marked by infighting and personal attacks. Chairman candidate Tom Fetzer felt it necessary to respond to claims that he was gay. Another candidate, Chad Adams, had to deal with circulated e-mails between him and a former mistress.

Now Johnson has found himself responding to high-level criticism about a charge of felony aggravated assault against his ex-wife in Ohio. He pleaded guilty to the crime in 1996.