Mike Sobol bows out of alderman race

Former mayor and alderman says new faces needed in local government

Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
September 8, 2020

Former Black Mountain mayor and alderman Mike Sobol has withdrawn from the Nov. 3 election. Photo by Fred McCormick

Former Black Mountain mayor and alderman Mike Sobol, one of nine candidates who filed to run in the November election, is dropping out of the aldermen race.

The decision leaves seven candidates campaigning for three seats on the board of aldermen this fall.

“I originally made the decision to run for alderman in the spring because I was not satisfied with the way the majority on the board, and the former mayor, were handling town business,” he said. “I felt that, as a town, we needed people on the board who would listen to our citizens.”

Sobol served as mayor from 2013 to 2017, when he was defeated in his bid for a second term by Don Collins. Prior to holding the office of mayor, Sobol was elected to three terms as alderman, from 2003 - 2013. A sudden shift in local government, brought about by the August resignation of Collins, who stepped down with two years remaining in his first term in the office, led him to reconsider his candidacy.

“We need some new faces in leadership positions,” Sobol said. “When I look at the current field, I feel there are many qualified candidates that bring new voices and perspectives to the board. I feel like now is the right time for me to step aside.”

Sobol has been a longtime advocate for the completion of the town’s greenway system and vocal in his desire to address stormwater issues and sustainability in Black Mountain.

“These issues are important to the future of this community,” he said. “I want to see the people who are elected this fall work with the rest of the board to address them. We have been waiting a long time for the greenway to be completed, and our stormwater issues are only getting worse.”

Sobol’s exit from the race, and the appointment of Larry Harris to complete the mayoral term vacated by Collins, reduces the original field of nine candidates to seven.

Incumbents Archie Pertiller, Jr. and Jennifer Willet are attempting to retain their positions, as challengers Tonia Holderman, Justyn Whitson, Matt Turner, Doug Hay and Pam King seek to unseat them.