History in Asheville

History has been made as Nov. 8 was a night to remember for Terry Bellamy, new mayor-elect of Asheville, N.C. The Appalachian city of over 68,000 elected Bellamy, its first black mayor, in a landslide election victory for six-year city council-member.

Besides being one of few female mayors in western North Carolina, 33-year-old Bellamy is also one of the youngest mayors in the state. A Democrat running for a technically nonpartisan office, she was elected with roughly 56 percent of the vote in the majority-white region. Her Republican contender, Councilman Joe Dunn, received just over 43 percent of the votes in an "off-year" election which typically garners low turnouts.

But Bellamy isn't dwelling on her historic success; she's ready to get to work with ambitious plans for the rapidly-growing metro area surrounding Asheville.

"It's very humbling to be in this position," she said of her election to a local newspaper. "Hopefully [this] will open some doors for a lot of people to work to achieve their dreams and goals and aspirations within the community."

Her electoral platform this year included plans for the city like boosting affordable housing and bringing more and better-paying jobs into the region. She also hopes to address the city's transit problems, commercial sprawl and use of the city's historic Civic Center. A city heavily dependent on tourism (their minor league baseball team is aptly named the "Tourists"), Asheville is nestled among the Blue Ridge Mountains and is home to the famous Biltmore House and Grove Park Inn.

Although the mayor's office in Asheville holds less authority than that of the city manager, Bellamy does hold a seat on the City Council and maintains the largely symbolic job as the city's figurehead and main official. It will be Bellamy's job to attract new investment and revitalization of the downtown and surrounding areas.

Needless to say, Bellamy, who works for a nonprofit housing agency, has a big job ahead of her.