Michael Roberts wants to steer Black Mountain in a new direction
Business owner responds to sense of obligation in campaign for town council
Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
October 16, 2026
Michael Roberts is one of four candidates campaigning for one of two full terms on the Black Mountain Town Council, as the Nov. 3 general election approaches. Photo by Fred McCormick
This profile is one of a series examining the priorities of candidates running for office in the Town of Black Mountain this fall. In-person early voting for the Buncombe County General Election will be open Oct. 15 - 31, with election day held, Tuesday, Nov. 3.
Michael Roberts was already sufficiently busy in his daily life as a business owner and father of seven when he moved to Black Mountain from Marion in the weeks after Helene. His arrival in the town, where he has operated Epic Cycles for seven years, represented the realization of a longtime goal for the family.
“We always wanted to move to Black Mountain,” he said, behind the service counter at his downtown business. His efforts to engage his new hometown led him to identify concerns with the local government. “I started going to town council meetings, and you really just needed to go to one to realize how much of a trainwreck the town was.”
What he learned in the months that followed compelled Roberts, one of four candidates vying for one of two full terms on the Black Mountain Town Council in the Tuesday, Nov. 3 general election, to take action.
“I’ve always believed if you see something wrong, and you can help fix it but choose not to, you’re no better than the people who caused the issue,” he said. “I’ve owned several companies in the past, and I know how business works. It felt like the town council had no idea how business works, so I decided to get involved.”
As a newcomer to town, he was taken aback by the public discourse he witnessed.
“You had a bunch of people acting like kids, arguing with each other,” Roberts said. “They had no idea how to manage money or a budget. It seemed like they were putting money, finances and attention towards areas that, quite frankly, didn’t need the attention they were receiving.”
As the town entered the budget season prior to the current fiscal year facing a nearly $2 million general fund shortfall and approximately $900,000 deficit in its water fund, he was ready to do something he never anticipated before relocating to the community.
“If you don’t have a good infrastructure and you’re trying to expand and develop, it’s going to crumble. It’s like a tree that falls over in a storm, where it looks like a beautiful healthy tree just toppled over,” Roberts said. “That happens when the roots don’t spread out and run deep, which is what you need to form a good foundation. That’s what I saw happening in Black Mountain, so I felt like I needed to run for town council.”
A simple approach to prioritizing
Roberts identifies three priorities with the quickness of someone who has contemplated the question for some time.
“It’s pretty simple, really. The top issue is infrastructure. We need to focus on getting the town back to where it needs to be, with the resources to support the community,” he said. “Whether you’re talking about buildings, roads, parking or emergency response, anything like that has to be listed as a top priority, or else you’re going to be living in a town that is dangerous to live in, difficult to get around, and one nobody wants to come visit.”
The town council candidate is also concerned with what he interprets as a lack of support for local businesses.
“The second thing is that it is imperative to help your local businesses. It’s silly that the town is thinking about increasing taxes, when you have a business district that would love your support,” he said. “The more successful our local businesses are, the more money in taxes they will put back into the town. So, instead of raising taxes on residents and making things harder on them, why don’t we prop up our local businesses to help them generate more tax revenue from them?”
While the town continues to struggle through a lengthy Helene recovery process, Roberts notes that local businesses and residents are enduring their own struggles in the aftermath of the 2024 natural disaster.
“Town spending is another priority, and should be for everyone,” he said. “How is it we were coming into the budget season with a nearly $2 million deficit, but we’re spending money putting a fence around the RailYard? That simply makes no sense.”
The business owner is advocating for a more strategic approach to spending by the town, which has been included on the Local Government Commission’s Unit Assistance List. The designation provides state oversight and resources to municipalities facing financial challenges.
“Our spending needs to be more effective, focusing on the most dire needs,” Roberts said. “I love the way our town is set up, and I want greenways, bicycle lanes, parks and things like that, but we need to fix the infrastructure that supports those things.”
Michael Roberts responds to submitted questions, Sept. 24, when the Black Mountain Swannanoa Chamber of Commerce hosted a forum for local candidates. Photo by Fred McCormick
A culture of fear in the business community
As a downtown business owner and member of the Black Mountain Swannanoa Chamber of Commerce, Roberts interacts with fellow merchants regularly. The feedback he has received for the past year or more, according to the candidate, factored into his decision to run for the town council.
“It’s kind of scary. People are afraid to expand, afraid to develop and afraid to offer new services,” he said. “For example, let’s say I wanted to move my business. I love the historic district, so if I move to another historic building down there, am I going to shut down?”
Similar concerns, he continued, create a sense of paranoia within the business community.
“Am I going to say something to make somebody in the planning department mad and all of the sudden I’m being fined, having a fence put around my property or even shut down?” he said. “The town isn’t making it easy to do business here, and a lot of businesses are still struggling to recover from Helene.”
The candidate believes current leaders have not properly identified potential problems within the planning and building department.
“I can’t even tell if it’s on their radar,” Roberts said. “I know of other businesses thinking about leaving and heading to Swannanoa, because it’s easier to do business there, and we have Old Fort right to the east of us. Yet, we have permits here that have been pending for extended periods of time or licenses that are taking too long to approve, so doing business in this town isn’t easy.”
The potential ramifications of what he classifies as a “poor” relationship between businesses and the town department are alarming, the candidate added.
“If you make it too hard for people to do business here, they won’t come and the ones you have will leave,” Roberts said. “It wasn’t always that way, either. Our chamber is working hard to help businesses in our area, and that eases some of the burden, but lately I have continued to hear from businesses that are having a hard time.”
Safety and leadership
No responsibility of the local government is a more critical than keeping its citizens safe, according to Roberts, who cites the deterioration of the public safety building as an example of misplaced priorities. The structure, which houses the town’s police and fire department, was determined to be unsafe, following the presentation of a facility assessment report last March.
“That building has been in need of significant repairs or replacement for years, and been ignored for stuff that might be nice to have, but is not essential to the community,” he said. “It’s my understanding there is a lot of water running underneath it, and it’s causing sinking in some areas. The building needs to be fixed or repaired, or the location needs to be moved, but whatever we do has to be the most cost effective.”
Citing the diverse needs of a small mountain town with a thriving tourism industry, the candidate supports investing in local first responders.
“Our town is unique. We have to respond to a lot of different situations, like citizens at home, people on the trails exploring the natural environment, accidents on I-40 and U.S. 70, swift water rescue in floods and natural disasters,” Roberts said. “We have to have a well-trained emergency response here in town, because they are exposed to every scenario that can be thrown their way. We need to invest in them.”
Although the town is faced with an array of issues, leadership represents an overarching need, according to the candidate. As the municipality searches for a permanent town manager, a role that has been vacant since January, the result of the process will represent a key decision for the future of the town, he added.
“It is extremely important to find the right fit. You don’t want a town manager who comes from an environment that relies on large corporations to support the tax base,” Roberts said. “That’s not what this community wants or needs. We need a town manager who supports the community, itself. People love this town because it’s small and quaint, and it’s a blessing to live here. We need a leader who embraces that culture, while making the right decisions to make sure it continues to thrive.”
Fixing what is broken
A course correction is needed for the Town of Black Mountain, according to Roberts, who also notes the associated risks of overreacting.
“The worst thing you can do is just start making sweeping changes without first examining everything that is going well and learning what isn’t and why,” he said. “You can’t just come in and start implementing things without knowing how things work and listening to what the community wants.”
No decisions will make everyone happy, Roberts continued.
“In my opinion, we have priorities, like the safety of the community, that are first. But, if you took all the money we have and dumped it into one area of need, there isn’t enough money to fix any one part of the town,” he said. “So, we need to prioritize the areas we are funding by needs.”
That strategy would serve as the starting point of a lengthy process, according to the candidate.
“Nothing is going to get fixed overnight, but we didn’t get in this position overnight,” he said. “It has been a long time coming, because there has been no foresight on spending.”
Roberts is encouraging the town to closely examine its current funding priorities.
“Some things might not be as much of a priority as our streets being flooded, water system, parking or emergency services,” he said. “We need to pull back some money from things that are nice to have, but not essential. Our essential areas are suffering, and it’s not all or nothing, but we need to shift the ratio of what we’re spending on essential areas.”
As a candidate for town council, Roberts believes his perspective represents a fresh voice in the local political landscape.
“The reason someone should vote for me is because I don’t have anyone pulling my strings, one way or the other,” he said. “I love this town, and I’m passionate about it. I’ve watched it grow and I want to see it keep its small town charm, but also do well. Nobody is in the background influencing me on any issues, because my interest is in Black Mountain.”