Kim Roney beat Mayor Esther Manheimer with 57.9% of the vote. Drew Ball, Maggie Ullman and Antanette Mosley won the three City Council seats.
Kim Roney will be Asheville’s next mayor. The council member beat Mayor Esther Manheimer in Tuesday’s election, with 57.9% of the vote to Manheimer’s 41.4%.
The figures are unofficial results from the North Carolina State Board of Elections, with all 40 Asheville precincts reporting. Roney received 25,676 votes and Manheimer 18,375, a margin of 7,301. Write-in candidates got 311 votes.
Manheimer has been mayor since December 2009, according to the city’s Meet City Council page. Her term ends in December 2026. Roney has served on the council since December 2020, in a seat that runs to December 2028. The city has not yet said how that seat will be filled once she becomes mayor.
City Council: one incumbent loses
Voters chose three council members from six candidates. The top three won:
| Candidate | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Drew Ball | 25,586 | 22.8% |
| Maggie Ullman Berthiaume | 23,344 | 20.8% |
| S. Antanette Mosley | 19,821 | 17.7% |
| Jeffrey Burroughs | 17,277 | 15.4% |
| Keith Young | 14,120 | 12.6% |
| Sheneika E. Smith | 11,539 | 10.3% |
Write-in votes made up the remaining 432. Shares are of all votes cast in the race, and each voter could choose up to three candidates.
Mosley, the vice mayor, and Ullman, who sits on the council as Maggie Ullman, keep their seats. Drew Ball, who is not on the current council, wins a seat. Council member Sheneika Smith, on the council since December 2017, finished sixth. All three seats on the ballot were terms ending in December 2026, the city’s council page shows.
The council that takes office in December will be:
- Mayor Kim Roney
- Drew Ball
- Bo Hess
- S. Antanette Mosley
- Sage Turner
- Maggie Ullman
- a seventh member for Roney’s current seat, still to be decided
Asheville City Schools board
Four seats on the Asheville City Schools Board of Education were on the ballot, with six candidates. The winners, by unofficial count:
- Gordon Grant, 13,668 votes
- Liza English-Kelly, 13,610 votes
- Sarah Thornburg, 12,235 votes
- Rebecca Strimer, 12,044 votes
Daniel Shetley received 10,499 votes and Daria Datnoff 3,731. Grant and English-Kelly finished 58 votes apart.
County bonds pass
Buncombe County voters approved both county bond questions on the ballot, the state’s results show:
| Question | Yes | No |
|---|---|---|
| Open space bonds | 79,595 (64.2%) | 44,349 (35.8%) |
| Housing bonds | 72,409 (58.3%) | 51,823 (41.7%) |
The county’s 2026 bond page sets out what the money will pay for. That page could not be read on Thursday, so this story does not repeat the amounts or projects. We will add them once we can confirm them from the county.
Other Buncombe County races
- Sheriff: Quentin Miller won with 69.9% of the countywide vote, against Gary Parris.
- County commissioners: Anna V. Stearns won District 1 with 66.8%. Lonnie Israel won District 2 with 60.0%. Al Whitesides was unopposed in District 3.
- State House District 115: Lindsey Prather won with 60.0% of the vote in Buncombe County.
- State Senate District 49: Julie Mayfield won with 77.2%.
All of these figures are for Buncombe County voters only. For districts that cross the county line, the state board’s results page has the full totals.
What it means for you
- Nothing changes yet. Results stay unofficial until the Buncombe County Board of Elections canvasses them, and the new council takes office in December.
- Check the full numbers. Every contest, precinct by precinct, is on the State Board of Elections results site.
- Speak to the council. The current council still meets at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10, at City Hall. Contacts and how to email every member at once are on our who to call at City Hall page.
How the county ran this election, from early voting sites to ID rules, is on our voting page.
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