ABOUT SAGE TURNER for ASHEVILLE CITY COUNCIL

My passion for Asheville stems from my deep connection to our community. I raised my family here and Asheville has been our home for twenty years. I started out as a young mother and volunteer, showing up for several causes, making friends and finding jobs along the way. I quickly learned that being of service to community makes me feel whole, happy, and gives me purpose.

For work, I have chosen to spend my career helping non-profits, cooperatives, and independent businesses; I believe they are the backbone of our community, our economy and Asheville’s future.

My passions include kayaking our many lakes and rivers, hiking our beautiful trails, cheering for our Asheville Cougars, and restoring old buildings. I have a penchant for taking on big projects and navigating them to success, with bumps and bruises along the way. I am very concerned about affordable housing, our environment, and want to ensure the future we are handing to our children is safe and sustainable.

I have studied business, consumer science, urban planning, and geographic information systems; these are powerful tools for building fiscally, socially, and environmentally sustainable communities. By electing me to Asheville’s City Council in 2020 we will launch the decade of smart and responsible growth, planning for a future and a city that works and builds prosperity for all.

Sage with her children Dylan and Freya.p

SAGE'S WORK & COMMUNITY SERVICE

Affordable Housing and Livability Focus

City Commissions, Community Boards

Chair Affordable Housing Advisory Committee

Chair Downtown Commission

Just Economics/Living Wage

THRIVE Asheville

Children First Success Equation.

Local Living Economy Working Group

Manna Food Bank

Community Leadership Council for 10-year tourism planning

Asheville Downtown Association

Ethical Finance and Project Management

French Broad Trading Co-op

Since 2008, revamped Asheville's treasured cooperative business to:

Implement the nation’s first certified Living Wage grocery store

Better managed annual budget now at $5 million

Support increase number of local farmers as vendors, now over 1,000 products

Working to continue Julian Price’s legacy by reinvesting in community development, bringing a full size grocery to downtown, and creating affordable housing and affordable commercial space.

sage turner for asheville icon DOWNTOWN.

Urban Planning, GIS, Business

Degrees and Coursework

Masters, Urban & Regional Planning, University of Florida

Masters, Geographic Information Systems, University of Florida

B.S. Consumer Sciences, Appalachian State University

Business, North Carolina State University

20 years on boards and committees

UNC School of Government Planning Training

Sage Turner for Asheville City Council

Our greatest challenges are interconnected, with housing at the center. With Sage Turner on Asheville City Council we can make Asheville affordable, equitable, and sustainable.