Seven file to run in Black Mountain election

Two incumbents and five challengers vie for offices, Ryan Stone will not seek re-election

Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
July 15, 2022

Seven candidates, including two incumbents, have filed to run for offices in the Town of Black Mountain this November. Photo by Fred McCormick

Incumbents holding two of three Black Mountain seats to be decided this fall will seek to retain their positions against a field of candidates, as the deadline to file for the 2022 election passed at 12 p.m., July 15.

Vice Mayor Ryan Stone, who has served on the town council since 2013, will not seek re-election, while Mayor Larry Harris and Town Councilmember Bill Christy will face challengers.

Harris, who served on the town council from 1987 to 1989 and again from 2013 until 2020, when he was appointed to fill the seat previously held by Don Collins, announced his intention to seek a return to the office in January. He was the first candidate to officially enter the race, submitting his paperwork four days after the filing period opened, July 1.

Campaigning against the current mayor is Mike Sobol, who held the office from 2013 - 2017.

Sobol was first elected to the town council in 2003, and appointed mayor in December of 2006, following the death of then-mayor Will Kennedy. Re-elected to the board in 2007 and again in 2011, Sobol was one of nine people who initially ran in 2020, but dropped out of the race that September, citing an adequate number of “qualified candidates” for the town council at the time. He currently serves on the town’s active mobility commission.

Christy was sworn in a year ago to fill the vacancy left by the departure of Tim Raines, who was appointed to the position in 2018. The alumnus and current interim president of Warren Wilson College retired from his practice as a real estate and probate attorney in December of 2021. Christy will be among five candidates seeking to fill two expiring terms on the town council.

The remaining field of candidates consists of Robert “Sonny” Moore, Alice Berry, Weston Hall and Rick Earley, who currently serves on the planning board.

Stone, who was appointed to fill an unexpired term on the town council in 2013 before winning elections in 2015 and 2017, will step away from the seat he’s held for nearly nine years.

“My oldest is starting kindergarten in a month, and I’ve been serving on this board for a long time now. I was on the planning board for several terms, and sat on other boards for a while,” he said. “I just want to take more time to be with my family. It’s been an incredibly hard decision for me, and I’ve loved being on the town council.”

While now feels like the right time for a new perspective on the board, Stone added, he “has faith in the direction of the board.”

“I feel good about the job everyone is doing on the town council, and the leadership of the mayor,” he said. “I just need a break, and I’m not closing the door on the possibility of running again one day.”