Kim Roney

Office: Asheville Mayor

Primary Candidate Survey Response

To what extent do you agree with the following statement? Please briefly explain your answer.

“Local government should play an active role in supporting arts and culture because of their impact on the economy, quality of life, and community recovery.”

Strongly agree – Local government should be a proactive partner through funding, policy, and planning

Collaboration, partnership, and multi-solving is part of the creative process!

Our arts & culture community are powerful partners to have at the table for quality of life, public health & wellbeing, and economy. Revisiting ArtsAVL’s dual reports of the 2025 Creative Economy Snapshot and the Economic Contribution of Creative Industries in Buncombe County that looked at the economic impact of the arts sector’s 9,000+ jobs, “The sector boosted Buncombe County’s GDP by $810 million, with a total output of $1.64 billion.”

I’m grateful for the partnership between ArtsAVL and the City of Asheville. Two recent, standout examples:

Supporting local businesses through administration of the Event Support Grant. I continue to appreciate the intentionality of the ArtsAVL to evaluate funding processes to ensure more equitable outcomes, building relationships and amplifying the work of BIPOC and LGBTQ+ artists in our community.
Applying for the Small Business Support Program to administer #2.3-million of the CDBG-DR funds for economic recovery I moved to approve the partnership at the Planning, Economic Development, and Environment Committee meeting on Jan. 20th and it will be on the Consent Agenda for our January 27th Council meeting at 10am in City Hall.

From my experience as an owner/operator of an arts-based business, many in our community are concerned about Asheville’s uphill and long-term recovery from Hurricane Helene. The City is moving as quickly as processes allow, but the $17-million in economic recovery funds are not yet on the ground, and businesses are stretched trying to get through a 2nd winter. Your relationships and trust in the community will help to get these grants moving quickly and effectively.

I’m also considering the influence of arts & culture through all parts of our recovery. Through continued and deepening partnership with our arts & culture sector, the City of Asheville can bring people to the table with their lived and professional experience, including through our recovery boards: Housing, Economy, Infrastructure, and People & Environment. I made this a priority when working with RADA to advocate and reopen the application window for the recovery boards, and through prioritization of my votes in the appointment process.

It’s a matter of priorities. Together we can make this a great place to live and work, then it will continue to be a great place to visit too. I’m committed to processes that foster shared accountability and shared success so we can be truly #MountainStrong!

In service & solidarity, Kim Roney – Asheville Music Educator