Drug Excursion Sparks Controversy "To solicit crack cocaine to prove there is a drug problem is like smuggling a bomb onto an airplane to prove we need better security at airports." - Council member Brownie Newman It wouldn't be a war without a little reconnaissance work. And as the principal planner and advocate of Operation Hard Time (a proposed war on drugs in public housing), Vice Mayor Carl Mumpower apparently figured he was the man for the job. On the evening of May 14, Mumpower told Xpress, former Asheville City Council member Herb Watts, a retired police officer, "offered to educate me some more" about the open-air drug markets flourishing in Asheville's public-housing complexes. Mumpower told how he and Watts had driven to Lee Walker Heights, where Watts' car was approached by a group of young men. According to Mumpower, Watts rolled down the driver's side window, asked for "a dime," and "the guy dropped a rock in his hand, Herb handed it to me, and Herb then drove off without paying. I was looking over my shoulder waiting for the gunfire." [continues 875 words]
Council Gets An Earful From The Public On Proposed Drug War When wars are waged, the people most affected rarely get a say in how it's fought. And up till now, that's been equally true in the case of the Asheville City Council's dueling anti-drug plans. But at Council's June 8 formal session, the war planners clearly felt it was time to zip their lips, open their ears, and hear from the civilians who stand either to be liberated or to find themselves in the thick of the fray. [continues 1043 words]
Accusations Fly At Council Budget Session Asheville Vice Mayor Carl Mumpower wanted a war on drugs. What he got was a war of words. The pitched battle took place during a May 3 City Council budget workshop. The conflict made public the acrimony that has simmered privately for months. At one point in the meeting, Mumpower accused Council member Terry Bellamy of making a "racist statement." That didn't sit well with Bellamy, the lone African-American on Council, who noted that it wasn't the first time Mumpower had leveled the charge. "Honey, that's reality - it's about telling the truth!" she proclaimed. [continues 2013 words]
