Tom Sobol leaves a legacy of servant leadership

Black Mountain mourns passing of former mayor and county commission chair

Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
September 19, 2024

Former Black Mountain Mayor and Buncombe County Board of Commissioners Chair Tom Sobol, who passed away Sept. 4, will be celebrated, Sept. 20, at the St. Margaret Mary's Catholic Church in Swannanoa. Courtesy photo

Things were simple in the small mountain town in which Tom Sobol grew up. People knew their neighbors, cherished the natural beauty around them and did not hesitate to help others with tasks, big or small. 

His surrounding environment was, indeed, far more complex throughout his 30-year political career in Black Mountain and Buncombe County, but as the many people whose lives he touched prepare to celebrate the life of the man who passed away, Sept. 4, at the age of 81, they will remember an elected official who was guided by the fundamental principle of serving his community. 

A service honoring the former Black Mountain mayor and Buncombe County commision chair will be held at 1 p.m., Friday, Sept. 20, at St. Margaret Mary’s Catholic Church in Swannanoa. 

Sobol was born as Black Mountain entered a new era, less than 50 years after the establishment of the town and weeks after the conclusion of World War II. Like many of his peers who came of age in the second half of the 20th century, he spent much of his childhood exploring the sleepy Swannanoa Valley on his bicycle and fishing in the local creeks and rivers. 

His fondness for his hometown, and the people he shared it with, was evident at a young age, according to his younger brother and current Black Mountain mayor, Michael Sobol. 

“A younger brother always looks up to their older brother, and that was definitely the situation with us. There were seven years between us, but before he left for college Tom always included me in things he was doing,” Michael said. “To me, that’s what he was all about throughout his life, he truly liked dealing with people.”

Even when other students at East Carolina University were making plans to spend spring break or the holidays traveling, home was never far from his brother’s mind, according to Michael.

“My mother was a member of the Lindsey family, and she had numerous brothers and sisters, so there were always big family events he loved being part of,” the mayor said. “There was not a time I remember him being away for the holidays. That was important to him.”

Growing up in a home where his father was a founding member of the Kiwanis Club of Black Mountain-Swannanoa, Tom understood the value of civic engagement. He filed to seek a seat on the town’s governing body at the age of 26.

“He liked the game of chance, and that’s what politics is. Once he got in there, he was very eager to find ways he could help the town,” Michael said. “One of the biggest things he was focused on at that time was the pool, because he had been a lifeguard down there and he wanted a better pool that had a filter in it.”

Tom was among the local elected officials who, during his fourth two-year term on the town council in the summer of 1976, cut the ribbon on the town’s new pool. Months later, he launched his first successful mayoral campaign against incumbent Margaret Slagle.

The young mayor, whose family established Sobol House of Furnishings and later Valley Reality and Construction, was re-elected to the office three more times.

Tom Sobol, who served on the Black Mountain governing body from 1969 until 1984, speaks to a gathering at the Lakeview Center at Lake Tomahawk. Courtesy photo

“I was always kind of surprised that Tom didn’t become a civil servant when he finished school,” said Carl Bartlett, who succeeded Tom as mayor in 1984. “He really believed that government should help those who can’t help themselves.”

Tom’s attentiveness to the concerns of town residents made him an approachable figure, while his sensible responses earned the respect of fellow elected leaders.

“He was always very up front about what the town could and couldn’t do in situations,” Bartlett said. “The board members really appreciated his wisdom.”

While serving as mayor, Tom supported a 1978 referendum that would have made Black Mountain the first town in Western N.C. to allow the sale of liquor by local businesses. The measure was defeated in a close vote, but passed successfully in 2012.

He was also a staunch supporter of efforts to repair and revitalize Lake Tomahawk Park in the early 1980s.

“In all of the decisions I saw him make, he never made any of them for political gain,” Bartlett said. “He addressed the issues he addressed because he felt that was what was best for the people of the town. I think when you look back at his political career, you can see how that resonated with people.”

Tom brought that ability to connect with constituents to a larger campaign trail in 1984, when the Democrat filed to enter the race for a seat on the Republican-controlled Buncombe County Board of Commissioners. The message he received from voters shaped his advocacy for investing in and improving the county school system’s crumbling infrastructure and preserving the local environment.

Touting his 15-year career of service in Black Mountain, Tom earned nearly 9,500 votes in a primary runoff on his way to a victory in the subsequent general election that fall. As he settled into his new role that year, he found a familiar face and Buncombe County School Board of Education ally in Wendell Begley.

“Tom and I were elected to our seats on the boards the same year,” said the Black Mountain Savings Bank President who went on to serve on the school board for 25 years. “The interesting thing about it is that we were next door neighbors with the Sobol family before the interstate came through town, and I’ve known them all my life. Tom’s mother and father were close friends with my parents, so I knew what an honest man he was, because I knew where he got that from.”

With an enrollment of approximately 25,000 students, the county school system was the third largest in the state at the time, but faced multiple challenges.

“There were around 13,000 school districts in the country at that time, and Buncombe County was named one of the ‘dirty dozen,’” Begley said. “We had some of the most dilapidated classrooms and among the lowest paid teachers in the country. We knew we were going to need the support of Tom and all of the county commissioners to turn things around.”

Tom Sobol smiles as he celebrates his 80th birthday. The former Black Mountain mayor and Buncombe County Board of Commissioners chair passed away, Sept. 4, at the age of 81. Photo courtesy of Tina Lance

Education became “the blueprint for the county,” Begley continued. In 1991, a nationwide search ended when former U.S. Secret Service Special Agent and Durham County Schools Superintendent Dr. J. Frank Yaeger was hired to guide BCS.

“Tom respected Frank as much as I did, and whenever they met there was a trust there,” said Begley, who served as the chair of the board of education for a decade. “If Frank said our schools needed something to help our kids or teachers, Tom and his board funded it.”

Under Yaeger’s leadership and with a strong partnership between the school board and county commission, BCS became a perennial top 10 district in the state.

“I believe you can trace that back directly to a relationship between leadership and education,” Begley said.

Service outside of local government remained a priority for Tom, who held positions on the N.C. State Personnel Commission, the United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County Board and Asheville-Buncombe Crime Stoppers throughout his political career.

His influence culminated in 1996, when he won his 12th straight election, earning 34,000 in the race for the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners Chair. He held that seat until 2000, ending his 31-year political career.

“In all that time, he never missed a meeting,” his brother Michael said. “I remember one time, he was in the hospital while he was serving on the board in Black Mountain, and our father went out there, picked him up for a meeting here, and then took him back to the hospital after the meeting.”

His commitment to his sworn duty was one of his admirable qualities, according to Begley.

“In my timeline, I don’t think there has been a more dedicated political figure here,” he said. “HIs leadership in the county was impeccable, in my opinion.”

Approval for Tom’s public service was echoed in his final meeting as chair of the county commission, as he received multiple standing ovations, according to a story published by the Mountain Xpress in November of 2000.

The gathering became a “virtual love-fest,” according to reporter Tracy Rose, as the commission recognized his service with a gavel mounted to a plaque.

The widespread respect for Tom, who was presented with The Order of the Long Leaf Pine award in 2000 by then-governor Jim Hunt, was rooted in his honesty, according to Bartlett, who served as the mayor of Black Mountain for 25 years.

“With Tom, what you saw was what you got; he was very up front,” he said. “Even when he was defeated by Nathan Ramsey in the county commissioner chair race, it was because Tom supported county-wide zoning. To be honest, that was a need, but it’s hard to get people in the mountains to vote for that.”

A county-wide zoning ordinance was adopted nine years after Tom left office, demonstrating his vision and “common sense” approach to governance, according to Michael.

“Elected leaders have to make decisions, so either people can make them or circumstances can,” he said. “Tom knew you had to get out front and make them yourself. He saw things that needed to be done, and instead of letting time take care of them, he went out with ideas and worked to push those forward.”