Western North Carolina voters turned out in strong numbers across municipal races this year, deciding contests that will shape local recovery, infrastructure and growth for years to come. 

In Haywood, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties, ballots featured a mix of incumbents and newcomers in competitive races that reflected both the challenges and the momentum of a region still rebuilding from repeated disasters — a region where voters think they’ve now chosen the right people to move it forward. 

Overwhelmingly, municipal officials take pride in their nonpartisan service, but once they’re elected, they don’t just leave their party hats at the chamber doors.

Waynesville isn’t just another mountain town still recovering from Hurricane Helene — it’s Haywood County’s economic, cultural and governmental hub. Nearly everything that happens in the largest municipality in the state’s western seven counties has ripple effects beyond its borders, from disaster recovery and infrastructure planning to affordable housing and fiscal stability.  

More than six months after Hurricane Helene dealt millions in damage to government infrastructure across the region, the Town of Waynesville reopened a newly repaired bridge — despite the complete absence of FEMA funding.

A rare public impasse by Council Members over the Town of Waynesville’s proposed budget will leave things unsettled for the time being, foreshadowing prolonged negotiations over an all-but-certain tax increase. 

They ran a noisy campaign, filled with distortions, misinformation and outright fabrication, but in the end, that’s all it was — noise. 

They ran a noisy campaign, filled with distortions, misinformation and outright fabrication, but in the end, that’s all it was — noise.

Despite largely refusing to show up for forums or interviews, a slate of far-right candidates has tried multiple times to spread misinformation in the lead-up to Waynesville’s November election — both on the internet and in printed campaign materials — but their most recent attempt to do so, concerning waste water treatment plant funding, doesn’t appear to hold water either. 

Voters in Waynesville are preparing for a contentious election that offers very different visions for the future of the town the candidates want to lead. 

Two defendants who pleaded guilty in federal court for their roles in communicating threats to dozens if not hundreds of elected officials, judges and public figures across the nation and across Western North Carolina have finally learned their fates, as U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger handed down sentences in Asheville on Aug. 24.