Local government here can be confusing: two overlapping bodies, different powers, different meeting schedules. This is LocalBrief Asheville's plain-English guide to who runs things in Asheville and Buncombe County. We keep it updated as officeholders change.

Asheville City Council

The City of Asheville is run by a mayor and a city council, which set city policy, the city budget and local ordinances and oversee city services. Esther Manheimer is mayor and announced in August 2025 that she is seeking a fourth term in the 2026 election, where council member Kim Roney is challenging her. We will update this section as the election proceeds.

Buncombe County Board of Commissioners

The county is governed by a seven-member Board of Commissioners, chaired by Amanda Edwards. The board controls the county budget, county-wide services, public health and a large share of the Helene recovery decisions, and it generally meets on the first and third Tuesdays of each month.

City versus county: who does what

Roughly: the city runs things inside Asheville's limits (city streets, city services, city zoning); the county runs county-wide functions (the sheriff's office, county health, county-level recovery). Schools are split between two systems, Asheville City Schools and Buncombe County Schools. We spell out which body is responsible whenever it matters to a story.

How to follow along

Council and commission agendas and minutes are posted publicly on the city and county websites. We preview the meetings that matter and write them up in plain English afterwards. For a live example of decisions in play, see our explainer on the city budget shortfall and our Helene recovery tracker.

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