Hurricane Helene and the WNC Mayors Blakely, Fitzsimmons, McAllister & Smathers: Tales of Grit, Grace, and Gritty Truths!

David B. Wheeler: 00:00:00

Welcome to the MUCK YOU! podcast, where we dive headfirst into the messy world of politics and power. I'm David Wheeler, your host, riding shotgun with the one and only Colonel Moe Davis, the soon to be Congressman from North Carolina's 11th district.

With Moe's battle tested grit and razor sharp takes, we're here to shred the spin, expose the absurd, and serve up unfiltered truth on the issues that hit home. So grab a seat, crank up the volume, and let's stir up some serious muck. Over to you, Moe.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:00:28

Hey, thanks, David, and, and thanks everybody for joining us again on Muck U. It's a beautiful day here in western North Carolina and we're happy to have you join us.

You know, recently we had Asheville's mayor, Esther Manheimer on.

You know, when folks think western North Carolina, they tend to think about Asheville, but there's a lot more to western North Carolina than just Asheville. And so today we're really pleased.

We've got four local mayors on to talk about their communities and put, you know, the impact of Hurricane Helene and what they see for the futures of their town. So we've got starting out west, Mayor Zeb Smathers from Canton, which is out in Haywood County.

Up north, got Mayor Patrick Fitzsimmons from Weaverville. A little south of there, we've got mayor, Mayor Jim McAllister from Woodfin.

And then over in Henderson county, we've got Mayor Preston Blakely from Fletcher.

And we really do appreciate you guys taking time to do this and I guess let's start out west with, with Mayor Smathers and if you would tell us a little bit about, tell you for folks that aren't familiar with Canton, tell them a little bit about Canton. And I know particularly out there, you've had the challenge of not just Hurricane Helene, but also the paper mill closing.

So how about talking a little bit about, about that with us?

Mayor Zeb Smathers: 00:01:54

Yes. And just, I mean, truly honored to.

Mayor Zeb Smathers: 00:01:56

Be on this podcast with y'all.

Mayor Zeb Smathers: 00:01:58

You know, you look back at the last five years, you know, from COVID until now, we've had, you know, Hurricane Fred. We lost six people. Our town hall, our fire department, our river business district, you know, school facilities. That was 20, 21 in 23 out of nowhere.

We had pack of Evergreen announce that they were closing within months. Our paper mill, which is not just was our economic center, but cultural center.

I mean, our, our kids at Pisgah have, you know, jerseys say Milltown on it. And so we're faced with how do you still be a mill town without a mill?

And we had, you know,: 1100

But it is amazing, through all of those crisis and all the political toxicity, we are still surrounded by people of different backgrounds, socioeconomic levels, Democrats, Republicans. And they still believe that there are men and women out there that can help lead them through these times.

And more importantly, that there's better days ahead.

And I think for us elected officials, in the worst days, through the social media comments, the challenges, the frustrations, when you're surrounded by people like I am and like y' all are that still believe there's better days ahead, when many of them have lost everything, including loved ones, you find a way to dig deep and you answer to them. And it's. I keep going back to it. The grit and grace, not just the people of Haywood county, but the entire region of West North Carolina is.

Gives me a lot of inspiration and makes me believe there's better days ahead. Our job is to make that happen, do it in the correct way, and, you know, it's. That's where we are.

You know, our response to Helene was different because we went through Fred. We saw the storm coming. We prepared. But when you have 28ft of water in your hometown, there's only so much you can do.

But it's also very important to the people over here to have the backs of our neighbors, many of the ones that are on this podcast to, you know, help learn the lessons. We know the next storm is coming.

I mean, again, it is amazing that a mayor of a town roughly 3,000ft above sea level has to check the forecast in the Gulf as If Canton was 30ft above sea level. But that's where we are.

And, you know, not just Haywood county, but the entire region in the last 20 years from 04 to 24, has been impacted by more hurricanes than Charleston, South Carolina.

Mayor Preston Blakely: 00:04:52

Yeah.

Mayor Patrick Fitzsimmons: 00:04:52

So that is reality, how we got here.

We can go back and forth on, you know, I have an indication while we're here, but I think leadership requires you to make decisions in the world that exists, not the world that you want. And so here we are. And I think climate change is affecting all of us. It's affecting our friends in Texas.

It's affecting our friends down east this week. I think this is one of the issues of our time. But again, I would not.

There's no trenches I'd rather be in with elected officials that I serve with, and three of them are on here. And so we are lucky to call this place home. And I think our job is to pass it to the next generation a little better off than we found it.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:05:31

Let me ask you the really important question. Has Bear Waters Brewing reopened?

Mayor Zeb Smathers: 00:05:35

Labor Day.

Mayor Zeb Smathers: 00:05:36

Labor Day.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:05:37

All right, Labor Day.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:05:39

You've got one of my favorite breweries right there in your town. Yeah, it's great. Yeah. Really hated to see it get.

I'm gonna know it's right by the creek there, and it was gonna get hit, but, man, I'm glad to hear it's gonna reopen.

Mayor Zeb Smathers: 00:05:50

Well, you know, small towns is sort of like the barbershop. You can't really be a small town unless you have a brewery. So I. I don't feel whole until I. I'm sitting on the. On the shores of the Pigeon.

But you mean. You got to talk about these business owners, and they're the perfect example.

I mean, it would have been easier for them to leave, but they believe enough in their communities and the people to stay. And I think you've. You really got to respect the people that have stayed.

And I think that if you're still committed to our region and our communities after everything been through, those are the ones that you want to ride shotgun with because they're the ones that didn't abandon you.

Nothing against the ones that left, but if you're still here, elected officials, business owners, homeowners, and you're still committed, you're pretty damn tough in my book.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:06:35

Yep. All right, let's go up to Weaverville. Mayor Fitzsimmons, how did folks up there fare during the storm?

Mayor Patrick Fitzsimmons: 00:06:41

Well, as it was for everyone, it was a pretty rough time. We had a lot of damage from downed trees, a lot of debris. But most importantly, I think that we had no. No utilities, water, communications, electric.

Everything was out for an extended period of time. Luckily, we had. In the past couple years, we've been working on water issues.

And in that time, we have a line that connects our town to Mars Hill a little north of us. And we're now constructing another line that will connect from Mars Hill to Marshall. So, amazingly, Mars Hill had, like, no damage.

Even though they're 10 miles away, they have no damage from the storm. So we were able to tap in and share the. Share their water. So we actually had water within a couple of days.

It wasn't the pressure that people are accustomed to, but it's an amazing community anxiety reliever when you have water coming out of your tap. So I think that was a. That proved to be a great act of resiliency on our part to do that.

And we're now talking with other nearby towns about connecting. In fact, we had a meeting just at Mayor McCallish's house yesterday to discuss connecting our system with their system.

If we accomplish that, we will have interconnectivity from Marshall to Mills river over to Black Mountain, which would certainly put us all in better shape for the future. So we've actually have recovered pretty well since then. We did not have anybody. We did not lose any lives or have any homes swept away.

We did have a lot of residential damage from. Mostly from downed trees.

So it was a bad time, but it was also a good time because, you know, I think everyone got to know their neighbors a lot better than knew them before during those, those. Those weeks of no electricity whatnot. So it was, it was, it was, it was a good community building time as well.

And luckily we're mostly recovered and most of the debris has been removed.

Mayor Jim McAllister: 00:08:36

We really.

Speaker F: 00:08:37

Things are going well in Weaverville right now, actually. We're kind of. We're thriving. The projections are that we will, in the next two years, double our water capacity, double our sewage pumping capacity.

We just built a new substation, so we double our electric capacity.

And we're building a hospital, which is, we think, we think it's likely going to be approved by the state that they can double their size, bringing 2,000 health care jobs to Weaverville. So these are all exciting times. But you can also imagine what that means for the future as a.

Growth and development are going to continue to come probably in an even faster pace to our era.

So our challenge is how do we not be afraid of growth and development, but how do we manage it in a way, how do we attract the things to our community that we love and how do we discourage the things.

Speaker F: 00:09:27

So we have an exciting, exciting time coming up the next couple years in Weaverville.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:09:32

And you've got one of my favorite breweries, too, Alluvium.

Mayor Jim McAllister: 00:09:35

Yes.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:09:35

Which is a good one. It's kind of off the beaten trail there, so you got to know where you're going, but it's one worth, Worth stopping in and paying a visit.

Speaker F: 00:09:44

And we have a couple others too, if you haven't checked them out. Zebulon. Zebulon's only open on the weekends, but he makes that fancy kind of beer, you know.

And then there's also a new one on Main street called Level or. So right now, every town, every town or client needs to have at least one, if not more breweries.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:09:59

All right, well, let's go down to Fletcher and. And Mayor Blakely. How'd things go there during Helene?

Mayor Preston Blakely: 00:10:06

Yeah. Well, first and foremost, I want to thank you both for inviting me and having me here today.

And for those who don't know, my name is Preston Blakely, and I had the privilege of serving as the mayor of the town of Fletcher. And for folks who aren't familiar with Fletcher, we're a small but really tight knit town of about 8,500 people.

We're between Asheville and Hendersonville.

And it's a place with really deep root, strong families, and really a spirit of looking out for one another, which was incredibly highlighted during Hurricane Helene. And you know, when Hurricane Helene came through, it, it tested, I think, every part of who we are in Fletcher and all of West North Carolina.

Cane Creek, which runs right through our community, arose to a level we've never seen in modern history. Which runs right through our incredible park, which is a gemstone not only for Fletcher, but for Henderson county and for our region.

And along this way, you know, I saw many hardships by our neighbors stepping up or volunteers working around the clock and with a determination to rebuild. That to this day still, still inspires me.

A day before the storm came, I got a phone call from the Henderson county manager, John Mitchell, and he told me not to panic. But if somebody tells you that you're probably going to panic a little bit. And he said the storm was coming.

And you know, initially some of the models said Fletcher was going to be one of the hardest hit places in West North Carolina. And don't get me wrong, we were hit incredibly hard, but I think comparatively we.

We fared better than other communities, but we still suffered our same, our same hardships going back to Biltmore Community park, which again, is a gemstone for, for our region. We suffered a couple million dollars worth of damages in that park. And that's a resource that our community members use.

And it's been a, it's been there for years. You know, when I was a kid, I went to Biltmore Community Park. When the floods came, it hit our industrial park, which is a big part of Fletcher.

We have this incredible industrial presence. And one of the most unfortunate things to, to happen during Hurricane Helene was the damage that was done to Diamond Brand.

And for folks that don't know Diamond Brands, a manufacturer that's been around for over 100 years or was around for over 100 years, and they were headquartered in Fletcher and the floods put them out of business. I mean, that's a, that's a real impact, right, that people, people lost their jobs.

You know, the, the town lost a incredible manufacturer and a partner with, within our community. And that's a historic business. That's a big deal. We saw flooding in some of our residential areas that we've never seen before.

When I tried to drive out of my neighborhood to go see check on my residents, I couldn't get out because as soon as I got down my hill, there were flood waters.

And when I was finally able to get out, I went around to nearly every single neighborhood in Fletcher and shook hands and stood in front of people and, you know, had no answers for them. You know, we're in the mountains of West North Carolina.

We don't expect to have a hurricane hit us like, like this, you know, which again, I think is a testament to probably climate change. And my heart goes out to those in Chapel Hill, Durham, Orange County, Melbourne, and also in Texas. You know, this isn't supposed to happen, right.

And it's not supposed to happen here. And I went around and again I stood in front of those folk with no answers.

And I feel like I've been in a graduate level course for FEMA for the past, since September. And, you know, those folk lost a lot.

And we had to go around and we had to work with our partners and determine what homes were substantially damaged, which means they're damaged beyond 50% of their value. And we, we inspect the 137 homes, which, which is a lot for Fletcher. Right?

I mean, we're talking about a, the community that Census says is 8,500 residents. And so if we're even just assuming there's two people per home, you know, that's a lot of people and that's on the minimum side. Right.

So we had to go around and inspect 137 homes and 15 were deemed substantially damaged. So beyond that 50% threshold. But the fact of the matter is 137 homes got inspected, so that's 137 lives at the minimum that got impacted.

And so we've, you know, our town staff, our first responders are our partners with the state and federal government. We've been really grateful for them. You know, we've done a lot to try to recover. But there's. There's still a lot to do, right?

I mean, even when we're talking about small businesses, you know, the legislature probably hasn't done enough. I'm not sure that they've allocated any money for small businesses.

And I think the money that we have gotten so far came from the Baldwin Health Trust, some discretionary funding from the governor, and one more source that I'm forgetting, Duke Endowment. And, you know, all those monies dried up, and there are businesses that were across our region still. Still looking. Looking for money to support them.

And, you know, more than anything, I think this really highlighted how interconnected we all really are.

And I'm hopeful and I'm glad to be sitting in spaces with Patrick Fitzsimmons and Zest matters and Jim McAllister to work to not only, you know, recover our own individual communities, but our region as a whole. But we're, you know, we're doing the work that we need to do to recover in Fletcher, and. And I'm glad to do it. Yeah.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:15:37

ran for Congress back in. In: 2020

My campaign manager saw an old picture of me from high school when I played in a band and I hadn't picked up a guitar in probably 20 years. Next thing I know, I'm booked for a half hour set at the Depot in Marshall, which.

Which was a great venue where, you know, liberals, conservatives, whatever, met up on Friday nights and enjoyed bluegrass. And down in your town, you've got the Feed and Seed, which is kind of a unique. A unique venue that still stands.

Mayor Preston Blakely: 00:16:13

Yeah, that's right.

The Feed and Seed is an iconic place in Fletcher where you can get some of the best bluegrass music and have the most fun that you'll ever have in your lifetime in that small, historic venue. And so if you've never been to the Feed and Sea, definitely go out and visit.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:16:31

All right. All right, let's go to Jim McAllister and in Woodfin and Mayor McAllister, if you would talk a little bit about the impact on your town.

And Mayor Blakely mentioned FEMA, I'd be interested. What were your thoughts on FEMA's role after Helene?

Mayor Jim McAllister: 00:16:49

Thank you, guys. It's such an honor to be on something called MUCK YOU and how intimidating to have to go after these guys.

And I do want to give a shout out to Zeb, Patrick and Preston, because when I got elected, I was a businessman. I had Never been in small government.

And as I started to have my head explode on an hourly basis, I reached out to all three of them and they really have been great mentors to me.

And even though my head still explodes twice already this morning over small town government matters, I have to thank those guys for keeping me beyond the straight and narrow. You know, most people don't, don't realize that Woodpen is a separate town. It has a Asheville zip code.

We're the first town that attaches Asheville on the north side. We're a population of about 8,500. During COVID our population increased by about 10%.

We had a, what we call a plethora of Airbnbs in Witten and, and so many people came and didn't want to leave that it spearheaded a movement in our town to limit the number of Airbnbs which the town got behind us. And we got almost 800 new residents as a, as a result of that. Most people don't also don't realize that we have more riverfront than Asheville does.

Woodfin is on both sides of the French Broad river. So to have it rise 26ft and we have no idea whether our largest employer, Silver Line Plastics Ipex, would reopen, and rebuild, which they did.

Thank you, God. We lost both of our parks, Riverside and Silver Line. We were lucky though.

We were days from starting construction on $200,000 bathrooms at Silverline. And that's one of the things that FEMA would not have paid for. Let's talk about FEMA for a minute. I hate hearing people complain about them.

I wrote an email on behalf of the town to the regional director of FEMA after they settled down, telling him that those four letters, FEMA and Woodfin, meant good news. By Monday morning, we had tanker trucks of clean drinking water streaming through our town. We had an 18.

I got a call from the local church where we decided to set up an independent relief center. He had already welcomed the truck driver with the gleaming steel fresh water. He said, there's an 18 wheeler here.

He says he's, it's full of bags of ice and he's from fema. Should I let him park? I said, yes, I'll be right over.

And I had a friend of mine, Andrew Aiden, that everybody here knows, call me and said, what do you need, Mayor? I said, we need a way to feed our people.

I get a call an hour later from somebody at World Central Kitchen I had never heard of and says, chef Andre is in town. Come down and meet him. So I worked my way. I violated some rules and drove downtown.

And there was this little helicopter in this guy that I had seen on tv, and they were setting up a kitchen at World at Bear Barbecue. This lady came up and said, I'm Andrew's friend. How many meals would y' all like? I said, I don't know. I mean, I'm, I'm begging. Could you give us 200?

She said, you'll have 500 tomorrow. Can you have people here at 11 to pick them up?

And the next day and every day thereafter for almost six weeks, I led a caravan of Woodfin residents with vans and pickup trucks, and we brought back as many as 800 hot meals a day. Cases of fruit, cases of water, diapers, everything you could think of.

And, you know, and I cried my tears the first few days because I was, not because of the pain, but because I was overwhelmed at what FEMA and other people did. The real tears were shed of joy as I drove through the town and walked the neighborhoods and saw people out helping their neighbors.

And I feel like I got cut off there.

Mayor Jim McAllister: 00:20:37

Seeing people in the town of Woodfin step up day after day with no water, helping each other get buckets of water out of the river to flush their toilets, it just was amazing to see the spirit of the town come together. So I like these three guys. It's a life changing event.

And although I hope we never have to deal with it again, going through these monsoon thunderstorms the last few weeks and watching the river get out of its banks, that muddy water, the perpetual storm is here, and it's up to guys like us to lead our towns through it as best we can.

David B. Wheeler: 00:21:12

Well, you did a terrific job, Jim. I know you had some struggles early on and, but you, you know, you guys have stepped up in a way that I'd never, I, I, I've never seen actually.

And it's a thankless job some most days, I imagine. So, you know, Zeb, you've got some politicians in your family and, you know, where do you think that that comes from?

I mean, this desire for public service, where does that come from? And what sustains you on a day to day basis?

Mayor Zeb Smathers: 00:21:50

You know, I think all of us can look back and realize that everyone on this podcast is extremely blessed. Better than we deserve. I'll say that again. Better than we deserve. And to grow up in Canton. My grandfather was not elected.

He was part of the old Democratic machine. For Jim Hunt and the Democrats through the 50s and 60s and 70s he was a World War II veteran.

He opened the first supermarket, modern supermarket academy. He did not have separate facilities for African Americans. He let African Americans buy on credit. It was the center of the community and he was.

It really mattered to him that everybody mattered and everyone should be treated with respect no matter what lot in life you had. He passed away May 15 and 94 and no one's had more an effect on my life than him. Even though he passed away when I was 11 years old.

I remember my grandmother was in shock and I was. I was putting.

Dad put me in charge of the phones and Governor Hunt called and he said, I just want to, you know, send my condolences and spoke to dad and spoke to grandmother. And I remember that was the first time I think, why is the governor of North Carolina calling us?

And that was sort of my first sort of heads up in politics. My, my dad ran for Lawson Democratic primary back in the mid-90s, think for State House.

he was mayor of Canton until: 2011

If there's a smathers at the helm, you know you're going to get hit. So I think Stone's probably. Stones is probably screwed in that aspect.

But you know, it's growing up in a small town, even as an attorney son and is the mayor's son, you can't help but learn a sense of equality, that everyone should have respected that everyone matters. And I think that is just something that becomes part of your DNA. And I think when you see that, I think you do have an obligation to give back.

It's something that, you know, I'm even now trying to teach Stone. I mean, again, with much is given, much is expected.

And I think now more than ever it is up to us, no matter what, whether it be flooding, other use is to fight and advocate for these people.

And that, I mean, I think to me, even through everything we went through in Canton, bill closure, the floods, you know, is demanding that these people matter. You see it with health care, you see it with so many issues is like these people matter. It doesn't matter where you call home.

You know, you should be able to get your father to the hospital. EMS should be able to get there. You should be able to get your kids to school. We're just as important as anywhere else.

And I think when you grow up in a town like Canton and like the other ones on here, it just becomes who you are. Until my last day, until my last dying breath, I hope that I'm standing up for someone who may not have been as lucky as I was. You know, I don't.

I don't like bullies, no matter where they're at. And these people deserve not just good, but greatness. You know, I'm with the mayor. I mean, there's a lot of stuff I can point to.

FEMALE there's other issues where it's very frustrating how much money is sitting in Washington waiting to head this way.

And I tell everybody and I hold myself to this standard, everyone should have a picture, especially in Raleigh and D.C. if you're working on flood issues, of a family that's lost everything.

And when five o' clock hits, ask yourself today, did I do everything possible I could look them in the eye and know that I did everything I could for them today. And now, sadly, they're gonna need a picture of people from Texas, from Kentucky, other places. And I think that's the standard we have to.

Because again, they deserve it. They matter. Just anybody else. So that's. That's sort of my small town story. And I think everybody on here has those stories.

And I tell people, even in the big city, I mean, there's Kent's in Charlotte's, not even get Charlotte. But even the big cities are little towns sort of all tied together. And I think most people have a small town story.

It might have been going to their grandma cold country or where their husband grew up. I think, especially in this state, our small towns form a very, very connected tissue.

I mean, the barbecue sauce may change from east to west, but the setbacks, successes of these people, they call these towns home that we're mayors of, that's a constant.

David B. Wheeler: 00:26:33

Yeah, well, Canton's lucky to have you. And we're lucky to have you out here, western North Carolina, too, because I think leadership like yours transcends that town and that county.

And, you know, this is a pretty good example of that. So, Mayor Blakely, same question for you.

You're one of the first African American mayors in western North Carolina or in Fletcher, and you've been reelected and you've got such a positive reputation among the community. And out here in western North Carolina, where does that leadership skill come from? Was that your mama, your papa learned at church?

David B. Wheeler: 00:27:14

Where's that come from?

Mayor Preston Blakely: 00:27:15

Yeah, you know, more than anything, I. I always like to point to my. To my grandmothers. I Do not think there are as. Can I pause?

I. I want to highlight Zev Smathers for a second, actually, and how, how great his leadership is. And then I'll talk about my grandmother's. Just a small tidbit.

I was sitting in the, in the airport about the head of Chicago about two or three weeks ago, and this woman sits beside me and she starts talking to him and I tell her who I am and she says she's from Canton. I said, oh, I know the mayor can. And she said, I do too. I said, oh, great. So you know Zeb. And she was like, yep, how do you know Zeb?

And I was like, well, I'm a mayor too, and you know, us mayors try to stick together. And she says that she was marriage Mather's 6th grade math teacher and she always knew he was going to do amazing things.

And so I think Mary Smith has been destined for greatness for, for a long time. So, so kudos to you. Zeb checks.

Mayor Zeb Smathers: 00:28:16

Checks in the mail. Preston checks in the mail.

Mayor Preston Blakely: 00:28:18

So appreciate. I'll be looking for it. But yeah, nevertheless, you know, my grandmothers, they are the definition of leadership.

eady passed on. She passed in: 2019

And she had the opportunity to drive a city bus for the city of Asheville. And she was one of the first black bus drivers in our region.

And, you know, this is somebody who at one point was ordered to sit in the back of the bus, but she was quite literally and figuratively in the driver's seat of that bus. And that meant a lot, right?

You know, it means a lot to, you know, get on that bus as a, as a person of color or just, you know, anybody in my region and, and see my grandmother sitting and driving that bus, knowing that one at one point in her lifetime that she was not even allowed to be in the front yet she was driving it. To me, that is leadership. And beyond her amazing time doing that, she, she made some of the best macaroni and cheese that you would have ever had.

And if any of you ever been to a, a black family reunion or a black function, everybody ain't trusted to make the Mac and cheese, but she was always trusted. And we, we miss her a lot. And I miss that Mac and cheese a lot. But I, I carry her with me to the day.

But my other grandmother, Dr. Orlean Anderson Grave Simmons, I mean, she is A internationally recognized civil rights figure. And she has done so much for not only our region, but, you know, I would argue, our state. And she's been awarded the order of the Longleaf Pine.

And my grandmother broke the color barrier at Mars Hill University, which something, you know, and she experienced things that you and you all and myself would not want to even imagine. But she did that. Right? And that takes a tremendous amount of leadership to do that. I mean, that's a scary thing to do.

And she continued on in her life and she, she still, you know, she does more work than me to this day. And she. I'm not going to say her age, but I think she's at the point where she probably needs to slow down a little bit.

But I'm sure all of you have seen my grandmother out beboping around West North Carolina, chairing boards and doing everything else in the world at some point, but she, she is an inspiration to me and she is the epitome of leadership. And I couldn't be more proud of her and she's equally as proud of me.

en I graduated grad school in: 2019

And I went out there and Fletcher and I knocked on those doors and I sent those postcards and I hosted those events, the whole nine. And I met people where they were and told them my vision for Fletcher and our community and the things that I thought I could do for them.

And by the time I turned 25 in October, just before election day, I was elected to Fletcher Town council and I served in that role for two years. And my mayoral predecessor, Rod Whiteside, who also consider a mentor and you know, has really helped me along the way.

uraged me to run for mayor in: 2021

And so he broke that barrier for me and you know, he passed that torture loan. He said, preston, I want you to do this. I think you can do it and I think you do a good job at it. And I replicate that same campaign strategy.

I was really grassroots and again carrying both of my grandmothers with me and the things that they've done and here we are. So certainly my grandmothers are that beacon of Leadership and that beacon of hope. And I hope they continue to be.

And they're huge influences, not only I think, in my life, but in a lot of people's lives in our region.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:32:33

Listen, I never met your one grandmother, but Dr. Simmons is certainly an inspiration. See her quite often and I've never seen her when she didn't have a smile on her face. And she's really a original treasure.

Let's go to the other two mayors because both Mayor Smathers and Mayor Blakely were natives, but Mayor Fitzsimmons and Mayor McAllister both moved here later on. And we're kind of at the stage of your career where you could have just put your feet up and know, let somebody else do the heavy lifting.

So let's start with you made Mayor Fitzsimmons. What, what, what made you take on this role when it's clearly something you didn't have to do?

Mayor Patrick Fitzsimmons: 00:33:19

Well, unlike Zeb, I did not have a public service in my family. In fact, my family is surprisingly apolitical.

I don't know what happened to me, but someone got, they gave me good values, but they did not participate in political life at all. And I just gotta say I'm really glad that Preston didn't meet my 6th grade teacher because he wouldn't have gotten report as, as he did on, on Zeb.

But you know, nonetheless, I've always had a, a strong sense of justice and real concern for people who I felt were being treated unjustly. And I've also always been somewhat of an administrative nerd.

I actually enjoy all this budget stuff and deciding how resources should be, should be spent, etc. So I've even, I've even been an HOA present before, which I recommend not doing by the way. But I've always been involved, even in my work life.

I was a director of the Red Cross in this area for many years and then director of a financial institute helping entrepreneurs get businesses started.

So I've always had a, a desire for serving my community and I've also always had, like I said, a sense of trying to do things to improve the quality of justice in our neighborhood, in our communities, in our neighborhoods.

I also have always felt that, you know, if good people don't step forward and participate in public service, then less than good people get to make the decisions for us. And I don't want that to happen.

I want to make sure that either myself or other good people are in decision making roles, improving my community, improving my neighborhood. So that's how I got here.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:34:53

All right. But Mayor McAllister, how about. How about you? I mean, again, you. You had a distinguished career in.

In the private sector, and, you know, I'm sure you didn't take on this role for the. For the paycheck. So what. Why are you doing this?

Mayor Jim McAllister: 00:35:09

Well, never in my wildest dream did I think that I would ever be involved in politics. I'd always been interested and followed it. But, you know, living in a small town like this, I didn't think about it being political.

But all of a sudden, there was a real estate development called the Bluffs that had caused incredible amounts of controversy in town. And at the same time, the town government was undergoing some controversial changes. We had a multiple repeat of leadership.

I was friendly with our mayor, Jerry Vihan. He's a legend in western North Carolina. But I recognized that somebody needed to step forward and. And say, hang on a second.

And we need to approach this by an organized manner. Gather some data, find out, review the laws, find where we've gone astray.

And at the same time, I was absolutely floored that people started saying, jim, would you consider running? And I ran for town council. I had served a year on our planning and adjustment board, got a little bit of experience, been on town council for a year.

But I spent months trying to get other people to run for mayor because I didn't think I was the right guy for it. But so many people said, you are, and they said, we'll help you run.

And, Patrick, regarding hoas, some of my neighbors actually came to me and said, look, if you run and win, you're exempt from HOA positions the rest of your life. And I said, sign me up, baby. And I went and filed to run for mayor. That's a. That's a side story. But it was a leadership vacuum.

I got some very good people to agree to step up and run. Our water district had gone astray with a lack of leadership. I got three great people endorsed by the Sierra Club to run for Woodfin Water Trustees.

And had that board of Gordon and Larry not been in place, I don't know that Woodfin would have water today. Just outstanding leadership. And it came from the community simply going and knocking on their door and saying, we need you.

Please step up, and I will help you win. And I don't know how the other guys feel about this, but I'm an openly gay man.

And for me to be able to run for mayor with people knowing that and telling me, I don't care, that doesn't matter. One of the greatest, one most Wonderful things to ever happen to me in my life. And that's why all I can do is set an example.

You know, good behavior, honesty, et cetera. But, you know, for kids and grandkids out there. Yeah. If you're gay, you can be mayor of a town. The sky's the limit.

And I look forward to the day when we don't have to talk about being black, being African American, being gay. And I think we're getting there.

But I think Stone will find in his life and his kid's life that someday, once we survive these four years of terrorism, that America will get back on the right track and we'll have a country that someday you'll be looked on by your merits, not by your color of who you're in love with. Sorry if I got off track there.

Mayor Patrick Fitzsimmons: 00:38:10

It's interesting. There's two gay mayors in the state, and they happen to be next door to each other. And I got to say, an encouraging thing that I thought.

I've run several elections now, and I was always prepared to get blasted for that. But, you know, it has never come up, even when the newspaper printed it, not a single word.

So I feel confident that things are getting better and will continue to see more progress and that gay kids and black kids will be able to participate.

Mayor Jim McAllister: 00:38:39

And that's why, Patrick, I am so honored to be on the call with you and these other two guys.

An African American, a young guy with a political pedigree that someday will sit in Washington along with Preston Blakely and take over the office that Mo hopefully will fill.

So, you know, I realized when I decided to run for office, for town council, it struck me, you can't do anything about Washington no matter how hard you try. They don't care about me and Raleigh at the General Assembly. But I realized I can damn sure make a change in my town. And I have.

And I know I have, because when I go to Ingles, sometimes even dirty from working in the yard, people stop me, that I don't know, and say, you're mayor, Jim. Thank you for what you're doing, man. Don't let the bastards get you down.

And I don't know about the other three guys, but that's kind of the ultimate high when people you don't know that know you. Thank you. Boy, what a. What a sense of gratefulness from that.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:39:38

Yeah. Hey, let me. I know a big thing going on out. Out in your town, out in Woodfin. I saw it the other day.

I went kayaking on the French Broad river and went past it in that muddy water. Well, it's pretty clear the day day that we went, we went past the wave.

Mayor Jim McAllister: 00:39:56

Yeah.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:39:57

Tell folks a little bit about what the wave is and what that means for Woodfin.

Mayor Jim McAllister: 00:40:01

We're building. We're doing an old park called Riverside park, and the town voted. Before I moved here, they passed a bond issue to open a water feature.

And what we've done is remarkable.

In the middle of the French Broad river, with every organization from the Corps of Engineers to EPA and the river side, the commissions that handle rivers. Sorry, there's so many of them. We built a cofferdam in the middle of the river. They drained it. Helene covered it up.

Helene's water went down, and there it was. It had survived. This company, Baker Engineering, they're brilliant in building this thing. And in the last few weeks, they drained the copper dam.

We got to see the bottom of the river, what that looks like. They drilled down into the bedrock and created some frames.

Mayor Jim McAllister: 00:40:49

And starting this week, they installed the first giant boulder, attaching it to the bedrock so that no flood will ever be able to wash it away. And it's designed by a firm in the Czech Republic in Europe.

And once it's finished, these series of boulders have been scientifically designed that based on the water flow in the French Broad, it will create waves for kayaking. And it'll create up to the highest series of. Of rapids.

And if you've ever watched this stuff on tv, like the US Whitewater team, they actually can take kayaks and go into this water and surf, you know, for minutes at a time. And I watch it and think, those people are crazy. I worry the river was so muddy yesterday. I hope nobody got in it yesterday.

But we anticipate we're going to have unbelievable amounts of people come to little old Woodgen to experience the wave. And once it's finished, this park will have, you know, seating around for people to watch competitions.

We're, you know, hoping to have partnerships with people that will allow people to get in the river and rent everything from helmets to kayaks. But part of this water facility, across the river, on the other side, there'll be a nice smooth pass through.

And it's been designed so that somebody, a rookie and a. An inner tube can go around it naturally. There's no risk of them going into it, and it actually is going to improve the flow for fish.

But the real benefit, other than the tourist attraction, that by building this park, we're excavating 26,000 cubic yards of industrial waste, construction debris. Unbelievable. That was allowed to be dumped for years and years on the riverfront in Woodford. We're now changing that image.

We're cleaning up the river. There was an old railroad bridge that went across, and it got crushed by a flood. One of the other floods years ago.

But they didn't take the pilings out of the river. So, Moses, guys like you go through Woodpen, I'm sure you have to be careful to stay away from those old pilings and the rebar that comes out.

But all of that has been being pulled out from the river bottom. So it'll be a much safer, cleaner experience. But we're going to. This is my. My biggest worry.

If we have thousands and thousands of people come to that park in that way, where are they going to park? Where are they going to go to the bathroom? But we're going to figure it out.

But it's terribly exciting for our town, and I think it'll benefit all of western North Carolina. But we're doing tons of work to get ready to build greenways. We're finding new businesses coming to town. We have a hostel called the Lazy Tiger.

And you're forgetting to ask about beer and wood. Thin Riverside Rhapsody is your kind of place, Mo.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:43:30

Good barbecue there, too.

Mayor Jim McAllister: 00:43:32

People say the brisket is as good as it is in Texas, but it's a fun place to be. And Woodfin will be a happening place someday.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:43:41

All right. Hey, back to Mayor Smathers. I.

This week or last week, I read for you guys got $16 million from the state for 35 acres of land and wastewater treatment. So what's the future hold, you know, with the paper milk on. What's the future hold for. For Canton?

Mayor Zeb Smathers: 00:44:02

Yes. This was the last piece of a puzzle that really goes back to Tropical storm Fred.

And, you know, through all of this was, you know, our wastewater was being treated by the mill at no cost, and it was in the floodway, and it flooded in both hurricanes, much like many of our, you know, other sister municipalities. And then obviously, the mill was bought and our free lunch was over.

So we were able to work the general assembly to get money to, you know, in time to build a new wastewater treatment plant. But we didn't have a place to put it. And we were very, you know, careful looking around areas that served best.

But it was always important to myself and our board that people aren't lining up to have a wastewater treatment plant in their backyard. And we didn't want to put it on farmland. We didn't want to lose more farmland. We didn't want to put it next to a church.

And so we were able to negotiate with the new owners the purchase of really one entire side of the old mill site. What we're going to do is take the old wastewater treatment plant, which is very, very old. It's. It served industrial uses. We're going to shrink it.

We're going to make it more efficient. At the same time, we're going to start building a new one behind it, which will save time and taxpayer money.

But at the same time, we're also getting warehouses that did not flood. And the new wastewater treatment plant will be flood proof, will be elevated.

And this is 153,000 square feet of warehouse space, which we want to be a hub for manufacturing. You know, I think all of us are, you know, we've. All of our towns face the issue of, hey, Asheville's coming our way.

But we have citizens say, look, we want to be these different. We want to stay ourselves. We don't want to be Asheville. We want to still be our communities. And so why shouldn't. As we.

As we build this new hometown of tomorrow, why should it not start off exactly where our last chapter stopped? So let's find new manufacturing jobs that are, you know, environmentally friendly.

They're job producers, but create those jobs and help attract those young families. And so we were able to do that with help from the general assembly. And that really is the last piece of the puzzle that we needed.

And now we can concentrate on what does that development look like? How do we bring new ideas and new people and new money to the table, but not lose who you are?

But again, I know we're running out of time here, but I want to go back to something it sounds like is a sincere, authentic thread through all of us on this. We know these times are exceptionally challenging and depressing and scary.

I think even the ones of us with as much optimism and hope, it is truly being tested.

But when you hear the stories of y' all and Preston, you know, it goes back to, I think, an overarching theme that I don't want the future, the story of Canton in west North Carolina be one of pity and challenges. I want it to be something of hope and really a beacon to other places across this nation.

When you hear these stories, you know, even in the last 45 minutes, I feel more excited, I feel more inspired, because if you look hard enough, there are stories just like this all across this nation, and there is still goodness out there.

Mayor Zeb Smathers: 00:47:26

And I will. And I will leave it at this. And I think some of y' all may have heard me tell this story. This was after the murder of George Floyd.

And I think any of us know that in many communities, that in the black community, your ministers are mayors and your churches serve as town halls. So if something happens in Fletcher, I'm calling Preston. But in a lot, many black communities, it's the churches.

So I remember calling our local pastors after that. And there was a woman pastor from Waynesville, and she said something to me that I'll never forget and really has changed.

My viewpoint is she said, mayor, I appreciate you calling me. I really do. It's important that we pray for things happening thousand miles away, but we have to ask, what are we doing in our own backyard?

Are we getting the weeds out? Are we doing better in our backyard?

Because if we do, then we encourage our neighbors to do better in their backyard, and then their neighbors will be inspired. And I think that if you look at post hurricane, if you look at the country as a whole, the world as a whole, it's easy to get depressed and scared.

But I think, just like this podcast has shown, if you listen to the stories that are happening in our backyards and literally some backyards of our friends and families, the ones who voted for us, the ones who didn't, then I think you do see successes. I think you do see new growth. I think you see new flowers and vegetation growing. But you've got to look at it small. And I think it's all of us.

But, I mean, right now, you've assembled a group across West North Carolina, and how can you not listen to this?

And even though there's still rocks and there's still weeds, how can you not listen to this podcast and not see some flowers growing out of the ashes? And I think that's enough. I think that's a very important lesson that we can serve more.

Mayor Zeb Smathers: 00:49:14

Let our recovery be proof to people across this nation that there are better days out there, that we don't have to accept the toxicity and the division and the hatred that we can do better. And I think every podcast is proof of that.

Mayor Jim McAllister: 00:49:27

Well said. Oh, my. Well said.

Mayor Preston Blakely: 00:49:29

Thank you.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:49:30

Hey, and listen, I think folks that have listened to this podcast, like I said, we had Mayor Manheimer on from Asheville a few weeks back, that I think it's clear we've got really strong, dedicated leadership out here in western North Carolina, folks that have the best interest of their communities at heart. And I think you're exactly right. We do have better days ahead.

We're really grateful for you four guys taking time out to join us and, you know, certainly wish, you know, all of your communities the very best in these days ahead as we continue to recover from hurricane Helene. So, David, why don't you take us out?

Mayor Jim McAllister: 00:50:08

Alrighty.

David B. Wheeler: 00:50:08

Thank you, Mo. Thank you, mayors. What an honor to be on with all of you. I'm David Wheeler alongside Colonel Mo Davis. We'll be back soon to dive deeper into the muck.

Until then, stay loud, stay curious, keep fighting the good fight. Someone pulls out in front of you, tell them muck you.

Jim Bob Muckraker: 00:50:25

This has been muck you co hosted by Colonel Mo Davis in Asheville and David Wheeler in Spruce Pine.

ican muck breakers. Copyright: 2025

You can learn more and donate at americanmuckrakers.com. Thanks for listening and y' all come back for the next episode of Muck you. Yeehaw!