Asheville picks its next mayor on Tuesday, November 3 — six days from the morning this lands in your inbox.

The race comes down to two familiar names: incumbent Esther Manheimer and council member Kim Roney.

If you only have five minutes for local politics this week, spend them here.

At a recent community forum, both candidates spent most of their time on the issue that dominates nearly every Asheville conversation: housing.

The question is no longer whether the city has an affordability problem.

It is what a mayor can actually do about it — zoning, incentives, partnerships, and where new homes should go.

The candidates differ in approach more than in diagnosis.

Manheimer points to experience steering the city through hard years and argues continuity matters with major projects and recovery work still in motion.

Roney argues the city needs a sharper break — pushing harder on renters' concerns, transit, and voices she says the current approach leaves out.

Homelessness drew equally direct questions at the forum.

Both candidates acknowledged that visible encampments and strained services have tested residents' patience, while differing on the balance of enforcement, outreach and long-term housing.

There is a bigger backdrop to this race, too.

City hall is bracing for tight budgets, and officials have openly discussed possible service cuts.

Whoever wins will shape those choices — what gets protected, what gets trimmed, and how honestly the trade-offs get explained.

The mayor's seat is not the only thing on the ballot, so it is worth reading yours before you go.

Our practical advice is simple.

Check your polling place before Tuesday, bring patience if you vote at a busy hour, and ask the people on your street if they have a plan to vote.

Local races in Asheville have turned on margins smaller than one apartment building's worth of neighbors.

That is not an exaggeration — it is a reason to go.

City government decides the speed limit on your street, the zoning across from your kid's school, and whether the creek near you gets dredged this year.

National politics gets the noise, but local politics gets the potholes.

It also moves fast: a mayor and council can change a neighborhood's trajectory in a single budget season.

That is the real argument for showing up, even if no single candidate thrills you.

Voting is not a love letter — it is a steering wheel, and somebody is going to grab it either way.

If you have new neighbors, this is a friendly week to explain where the polling places are.

Asheville has never been short on opinions; the trick is getting them counted.

On Tuesday, the microphone belongs to you.

Use it.