A Message from Elaine Lite
Democrat for Asheville City Council             

Dear Friends,

I want to thank everyone for the incredible show of support during the past months. While we did not prevail in the final election, we raised critical issues that are important to over 5,000 voters in our city. And those are just the ones who came out to vote!

Since there is obvious concern in the community around the issues of overdevelopment & planning, growth, affordable housing, environmental protection, and sustainability, we will continue to move forward with bringing these and other issues to the forefront.  Please feel free to contact me if you are interested in becoming involved. Email info@mvalliance.net.

And thank you for giving me the opportunity to represent your concerns for our city, even if it was only on the campaign path.

We lost the battle, but not the war!

Sincerely,

Elaine

Asheville deserves a City Council that is as forward-thinking, creative, innovative and caring as the people who live here. Our city is a unique and special place, and I am running for Council to represent all of us who want to keep it that way!

As a 20-year resident of Asheville, I have been involved in the community, working as a citizen to make Asheville a better place and to ensure that we protect our mountains for the future. I am a volunteer with the WENOCA Sierra Club, a member and volunteer for the Preservation Society of Asheville and Buncombe County, a steering committee member of Asheville PARC, and a board member of Hope for Horses. Because of my deep concern about overdevelopment in our mountains, I was a founding board member of the grassroots environmental group Mountain Voices Alliance, and have been a volunteer leader in the Save Our Slopes Campaign.

I feel strongly that we must protect our mountains from overdevelopment. Uncontrolled development pushes up housing costs for working families and squanders the natural resources of our unique region. I believe that we can protect the environment and ensure that community needs are met, including affordable housing, good jobs with living wages, and a thriving local economy based on local, small businesses. As a member of Council, I will push for comprehensive land use planning, strong regulations, and enforcement to protect and preserve this special place.

As a mother and as a citizen of the world, I believe we must make decisions with the future in mind. Our local government can lead the way in creating sustainable systems that build community and preserve and restore our environment.

I feel the citizens of Asheville deserve a Council who will make decisions that are in the best interest of the community. As a member of Council, I will advocate for open, public democratic process that gives citizens more of a voice in decisions that affect our lives and our community.



PS - Please contact me with your ideas, thoughts, and feelings about important issues for our City! You can reach me at info@electelaine.org.