Written by John Boyle, Asheville Watchdog.
Former Buncombe County Sheriff Van Duncan is jumping back into politics, announcing a run for chair of the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners.
The former Democrat who now leans conservative, particularly on public safety, hopes to challenge current county commissioner and Democratic candidate Amanda Edwards.
Duncan, 59, is registered as “unaffiliated,” which means he’ll have to run a petition campaign to get on the ballot, and that will require collecting 8,200 voter signatures. Duncan switched affiliations in 2018 and decided not to run again for sheriff, partly because he said he became disillusioned with some Democrats’ opposition to police.
He’s been asked to run, Duncan said, particularly by people concerned about public safety and homelessness.
“I feel like there’s a lot of issues — I feel a dissatisfaction in the community that I hear from folks that’s at a higher level than I’ve heard it before,” Duncan said, adding that he thinks it’s better for candidates not to run unopposed. “If nobody else is on the ballot to bring these questions up for debate and forum, then that individual is going to walk in there with a lot of these problems pressing, without having to deliver any kind of explanation as to why they’re doing what they’re doing.”
Brownie Newman, the commission chair since 2012, is not running for reelection.
Duncan served as sheriff from 2006 through 2017 and currently works for the Biltmore Estate company police department as an investigator. A native of Mitchell County, Duncan started in law enforcement in 1987.
Edwards, 46, was first elected in 2018 on a platform of “restoring trust and accountability to Buncombe County in the wake of a very big scandal,” she told Asheville Watchdog Friday, referring to the arrest and conviction of former County Manager Wanda Greene on corruption charges.
Regarding her potential challenger, Edwards said she would welcome Duncan to the race, should he qualify.
“I think that is the beauty of democracy — that we can go through this process and let the voters decide,” Edwards said.
Of particular concern to Duncan are the state of downtown Asheville and homelessness, as well as some of the spending practices of the county. He feels the county’s debt load is high and should be monitored more closely, and he’s critical of the Board of Commissioners support for a jail reduction program Duncan feels puts dangerous criminals on the streets.
Duncan appeared on the Fox News show “Fox & Friends” in September 2022 to discuss “how crime spiraled out of control” in Asheville, a “Democrat-run tourist town.” The story remains on the Fox News website with this headline: “Former Democrat sheriff blames anti-cop rhetoric, bail reform for crime surge in popular tourist destination.”
“Even though we were making good strides in the community and reducing the crime rate, we still saw ourselves coming in as a negative in the community and in the eyes of some of the leftist politicians that were… getting elected at that time,” Duncan told the show’s co-host.
Duncan was also critical of what he considered a “high dismissal rate with the district attorney” and low or no-cash bail “for these folks who are just being turned back loose into the community,” a frustration for law enforcement officers.
Duncan reiterated several of those concerns in his interview with Asheville Watchdog.
Edwards noted that she has been endorsed in two elections by the Police Benevolent Association and said that Duncan endorsed her in 2018 when she ran for the commission. As far as crime, Edwards said a recent presentation by Sheriff Quentin Miller on county-wide crime statistics “does not reflect the narrative around crime in Buncombe County” that appeared on Fox.
“Over the last six years, I’ve focused and worked very hard to support the mission brought by Sheriff Miller,” Edwards said, citing her support for raises for deputies and jail staff.
While in law enforcement, Duncan was elected multiple times as a centrist Democrat, but he has moved to the right politically. Duncan said he believes the all-Democratic county Board of Commissioners needs some political diversity.
“I think some of the decisions that are being made, there’s not enough questions around them being asked — they just kind of get together and make those decisions,” Duncan said. “There’s no dissent because it’s a one-party group up there, and I don’t think that’s good for any organization.”
That can lead to a lot of “group-think” and a lack of debate on the issues, Duncan said.
Edwards said she believes Buncombe County is on solid fiscal ground, the board “has been very cautious in terms of our debt,” and that she personally has been a careful steward of taxpayers’ money. Regarding the current board being all Democratic, Edwards said she doesn’t introduce herself as “Amanda Edwards, a Democrat.”
“I make decisions as a commissioner based on what I think is best for the whole of Buncombe county,” Edwards said.
“I think we each bring our own very unique perspective and lens to the table, and there are issues some of us are focused on that do resonate with more conservative members of the community,” Edwards said, citing bringing in good jobs and building a strong economy as examples.
While Buncombe is a Democratic stronghold, the largest bloc of registered voters in the county is unaffiliated, with 86,547. Registered Democrats total 72,830, Republicans 44,532, Libertarians 1,637 and the Green Party, 77.
In lieu of running in a primary, Duncan will be required to obtain the signatures of 4% of registered voters in Buncombe County as of Jan. 1, or roughly 8,200 voters, on a petition. Duncan has until noon on March 5, the date of the primary, to garner the signatures, which also have to be verified, according to the Buncombe County Board of Elections.
If he succeeds, he’ll be on the ballot in the fall.
Western Carolina University political scientist Chris Cooper said any unaffiliated voter faces an uphill battle.
“Running and winning as an Unaffiliated candidate is next to impossible,” Cooper said. “There’s the problem of getting on the ballot in the first place and the reality that, even for extremely well-known candidates, most voters just don’t know who is on the ballot without a ‘D’ or an ‘R’ to guide them.”
It might not be fair, Cooper said, and may appear puzzling, “given the reality that Unaffiliated is the largest category of registered voters in the state.
“Van Duncan certainly does have some things going for him, though, that indicate that he could be an exception to the rule,” Cooper said. “He has been on the ballot before—and has been successful. He’s an experienced politician and he knows how to campaign, how to win and how to govern.”
The same can be said of Edwards, Cooper said, “and she doesn’t have to work to get on the ballot, and she will have the benefit of a party label to guide voters in a Buncombe County that is getting bluer by the day.”
Duncan lives in Leicester with his wife of 30 years, Shana. They have three sons and one grandchild.
Duncan has noted before that he has a mild form of multiple sclerosis, “relapsing-remitting,” but he said this week he hasn’t had many issues with it. It’s an auto-immune disorder, and Duncan said he’s been told by doctors that as people age and the immune system becomes weaker, the mild form of MS he has can actually lessen.
“I take no treatment for my MS, and it’s fine,” Duncan said. “I wouldn’t know I had it now.”
Edwards lives in Weaverville with her husband, Derek, and their teenage son.
While he’s running to diversify the board, Duncan had no criticism of Edwards. Duncan said he’s worked with her over the years.
“It really bothers me to have to run against her,” Duncan said. “She’s my favorite commissioner up there. I feel she’s competent and capable, but I worry a little bit about her falling in line with what the more liberal side of the party wants.”
Edwards, currently the representative for District 3, also grew up in the mountains, in West Virginia, before moving to this area in the mid-1990s. Her county commission bio states her mountain heritage shaped her “into a lifelong advocate for people and our incomparably beautiful mountains and vital natural resources.”
Edwards is the executive director of the A-B Tech Foundation, past executive director of the Western North Carolina Chapter of the American Red Cross, and past executive director of the Literacy Council of Buncombe County.
“I’ve known (Duncan) for a long time, particularly through my work in the Red Cross,” Edwards said. “He was always very generous in raising funds for disaster relief.’
Duncan has worked as a police officer in Sapphire Valley, Weaverville and Asheville and spent five years with the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He also worked for the North Carolina Justice Academy in Edneyville as an instructor.
Duncan said he expects to launch a campaign website the week of Dec. 18.
Asheville Watchdog is a nonprofit news team producing stories that matter to Asheville and Buncombe County. John Boyle has been covering Asheville and surrounding communities since the 20th century. You can reach him at (828) 337-0941, or via email at [email protected]. To show your support for this vital public service go to avlwatchdog.org/donate.