Former Buncombe Sheriff Van Duncan plans to run for County Commission chair

Former Buncombe County Sheriff Van Duncan is jumping back into politics, announcing a run for chair of the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners.

The former Democrat who now leans conservative, particularly on public safety, hopes to challenge current county commissioner and Democratic candidate Amanda Edwards.

Duncan, 59, is registered as “unaffiliated,” which means he’ll have to run a petition campaign to get on the ballot, and that will require collecting 8,200 voter signatures. Duncan switched affiliations in 2018 and decided not to run again for sheriff, partly because he said he became disillusioned with some Democrats’ opposition to police.

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Past-sheriff, ex-Democrat seeks top county seat in 2024; blasts jail, homeless policies

A former sheriff who left the Democratic Party over what he said was its leftward shift is now seeking Buncombe County's top government seat.

Former Sheriff Van Duncan said if he qualifies for the election and is picked by voters as Buncombe County Board of Commissioners Chair he would use the position to stop current county policies on jail reduction and homelessness.

Duncan, 59, is attempting to run as an unaffiliated candidate. To do so, unlike party-affiliated candidates, he must gather 8,143 voter signatures. That would put him in the Nov. 5 election against

Democratic Commissioner Amanda Edwards

who filed to run for chair this month and will face no primary opponent. No Republicans signed up to run.

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Past-sheriff, ex-Democrat seeks top county seat in 2024; blasts jail, homeless policies

A former Buncombe County sheriff is now running to be the next chairman of the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners.

Van Duncan is running as an unaffiliated candidate.

Brownie Newman, who has been chairman since 2016, announced in October he will not seek re-election.

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Van Duncan For Chair, Signatures Needed - First News On 570

WWNC 570AM with Mark Starling / Jan. 2, 2024

Former Buncombe County Sheriff Van Duncan is running for office again. This time, he says he's being asked to run for Buncombe County Commission Chair. In order to get on the ballot as an unaffiliated candidate, he needs to collect enough signatures from registered voters.

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Buncombe Needs A Leader - Van Duncan - First News On 570

WWNC 570AM with Mark Starling / Feb. 6, 2024

Former Buncombe County Sheriff Van Duncan is seeing the support grow for his write-in campaign for County Commission Chair. He joins First News on 570 to discuss the signature drive and the county's biggest needs.