Pam King wants to be a ‘fresh face’ in Black Mountain government
Alderman candidate pledges transparency, COVID-19 plan and environmental care
Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
October 11, 2020
Pam King served on the Black Mountain Greenways Commission and Friends of the Black Mountain Library. She is one of six candidates seeking a seat on the board of aldermen in the Nov. 3 general election. Photo by Fred McCormick
With early voting for the Tuesday, Nov. 3 election beginning Thursday, Oct. 15 and continuing until Saturday, Oct. 31, The Valley Echo is publishing a series of profiles on candidates in the race for three seats on the Black Mountain Board of Aldermen. Profiles of all six candidates will be published weekly through the end of October.
When Pam King moved to Black Mountain seven years ago, the daughter of a Caldwell County native had no intention of seeking a seat on the board of aldermen in her new hometown, but she found ways to serve the community. She volunteered for a term on the town’s Greenways Commission and dedicated her time to re-energizing the Friends of the Black Mountain Library, which she led as president for three years.
However, there was a consistent refrain she would hear when discussion turned to local topics.
“There was a fundamental mistrust of our local government,” she said. “Things weren’t clear or up-front, and it was hard to have input or know what was going on before decisions were made. It also felt like things were decided behind closed doors.”
She decided that someone needed to pull back the curtains on the process, and launched a campaign for one of the three seats on the board that will be decided in the Tuesday, Nov. 3 general election.
“I wanted to be a fresh voice for the people, which is my campaign slogan,” King said. “That’s exactly why I wanted to run.”
King entered what began as a crowded aldermen race with nine candidates in July. The field was narrowed to six when former mayor Don Collins resigned in August and the board appointed Larry Harris, a candidate for re-election at the time, to fill the final two years of the term. One-time mayor Mike Sobol and first-time candidate Justyn Whitson would go on to drop out of the race in September.
Harris, on Sept. 21, announced he was endorsing three candidates — Archie Pertiller, Jr., Jennifer Willet and Tonia Holderman — in the race, a move King called “unfortunate.”
“At the end of the election, the mayor will have to work with whoever is elected,” said King, the development coordinator for Buncombe County domestic violence agency Helpmate. “So, I was kind of disappointed that he did that.”
King, however, maintains that she has no axe to grind, and instead plans to focus on the three pledges that have been the focal point of her campaign — improve accessibility and transparency; develop a leadership plan to address the COVID-19 pandemic and prioritize policies that preserve the natural environment.
Accessibility and transparency
“There have been several issues in recent years that have been very high-drama,” she said of her transparency pledge. “I felt that a lot of that drama could have been alleviated if people had been aware of what was going on, beforehand. If you don’t tell people anything, their imaginations run wild.”
In an effort to address that, King, if elected, plans to hold regular quarterly town hall-style meetings with citizens.
“In a normal aldermen meeting, back when we were meeting in person, you could get up and say what you wanted to say, but it was kind of late by then,” she said. “You really want to have input early on. Communication is a two-way street, and I can’t promise the moon or say I’ll do magic things, but I can say ‘here are issues that are on the table and what we will be discussing in the future.’”
She encourages other elected officials to participate on a rotating basis to remain in compliance with open government, or “sunshine” laws. King would also make an effort to include details of upcoming and recent discussions and decisions by the board on the town’s social media channels.
“If I were on the board of aldermen, I would be open to posting an explanation of what we voted on, how I voted on the issue and why,” she said. “I would like to see us do more of that. You have to own your vote.”
A perceived lack of communication between elected officials and the public has been a common concern of voters during the campaign process, according to King.
“Transparency and getting fresh faces on the board has been the priority of the voters I’ve spoken to,” she said. “I will say that my reach has been limited because of COVID-19, so it’s been difficult for all candidates to access a broad cross-section of the community. But, of the groups I’ve met with, there has been tremendous support for the pledges I’ve made.”
Leading through a global pandemic
The many challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic will likely linger for some time, King believes, but a unified message from local leadership can expedite the recovery process.
“The town can take a stance and say we want everyone to be safe here,” she said. “If you’re a visitor from out-of-state or somewhere else, you may not know what the rules are here in Buncombe County or Black Mountain. We all want everything to reopen, and in my mind, the only way we can do that is to work together to make it safe.”
A campaign by the town to encourage everyone to wear masks in public would set clear expectations for residents and visitors, she continued.
“Buncombe County passed a mask mandate and the state did the same thing shortly after that,” King said. “I was questioning our board, and mayor at the time, on why the town wouldn’t do that. I was told there was no point in passing it if we couldn’t enforce it.”
King, however, maintains that enforcement is not the point of the county’s mandate.
“It’s to say, ‘this is what we do here,’” she said. “It also provides coverage for our local merchants, so they don’t have to say, ‘please wear a mask.’ They can instead say the Town of Black Mountain requires them.”
The collective effort of the community is the most valuable tool against the pandemic, according to King.
“We have to create a vision,” she said. “We won’t get over this until we commit.”
A greener future for the town
Recent moves by the town to swap traditional street light bulbs for LED lighting and energy-saving measures at Carver Community Center should be applauded, said King, who would like to build off of that foundation.
“We invest up front,” she said. “We have that giant public services building on Black Mountain Avenue, and I look at that roof and think about solar panels. Buncombe County launched an effort to put panels on every county-owned building, and that’s an excellent project.”
Approved by the board of commissioners in July, the Buncombe County Solar Project will invest $10.1 million to install 47 panels on county facilities. The goal is to allow the county to use 100% renewable energy within the next 10 years. The county estimates the plan will reduce utility costs by $27 million over 30 years.
“I feel like we don’t have to reinvent the wheel here, if we can dovetail with that,” King said. “They already have the systems in place, and there are grants to help with the cost of a project like that.”
She encourages the board to explore ways to reduce the town’s carbon footprint and cut energy costs for all of its facilities over time.
“How can we encourage businesses and homeowners to do the same thing?” she said. “I think it also makes good economic sense. I don’t have it all flushed out yet, and I’m not implying we should make businesses and residents install solar panels, but I would like to explore all of the options to help us reduce energy usage. I’d like to start that conversation.”
‘Black Mountain is already a great town’
There are many things to love about Black Mountain, according to King, and the greenway system is undoubtedly one of them. Her work on the greenways commission included organizing tours of the trails and assisting with the organization of the annual Greenway Challenge, a race that raises money to support its namesake.
While King acknowledges that the construction of Phase II of the Riverwalk Greenway has been slowed by the complications of various funding sources, she plans to advocate for the project.
“I think the greenways move faster when they have a champion on the board of aldermen, and that used to be Mike Sobol,” she said. “When he left, enthusiasm kind of dwindled, and it’s been slow moving since then. The board and mayor set the priorities for how the staff spends its time and what gets attention, and I think with two, three or four champions for the greenways on the board of aldermen, we can get that project moving again.”
King, whose career working in nonprofit organizations has included fundraising and budget management, envisions Black Mountain as a place where families can live and thrive, adding that it “is already a great town.”
“This community has been great to me,” she said. “I just want to continue to serve it.”
King, who has met outdoors with small groups of voters during her campaign, plans to hold a socially distanced meet and greet at Lookout Brewing Co. from 3 - 5 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 17.