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.

For the second election cycle in a row, a candidate who refused to speak to any media outlets in the Town of Waynesville prior to Election Day has come up short in a bid to join the Town Council.

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.  

Nearly a year after Hurricane Helene devastated Western North Carolina, the federal government still hasn’t delivered on the money it promised to local governments. With the one-year anniversary looming, towns and counties say most of their needs remain unmet, forcing them back to Washington yet again, to beg for help. 

Two members of Waynesville’s Zoning Board of Adjustment were improperly appointed by Town Council in violation of the town’s own term limits policy, a Smoky Mountain News investigation has found. 

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.

Today in the North Carolina General Assembly, Haywood County Republican Rep. Mark Pless filed a bill that would strip the county of its ability to levy room occupancy taxes.

When Hurricane Helene slammed into the Gulf Coast on Sept. 27, the storm’s destructive capabilities instantly grabbed national headlines. Now, the storm is drawing international attention thanks to an Oct. 29 visit to Haywood County by Israeli Consul General Anat Sultan-Dadon.

For many, a Pride festival is a fairly straightforward event, a celebration of unity among people marginalized for who they are and who they love. But in a purer sense, Haywood County’s historic first Pride festival and a competing prayer meeting held the night before were both compelling exercises of constitutionally protected rights, suggesting maybe — just maybe — that Americans can, in fact, disagree without being disagreeable.