Cory Vaillancourt
@coryvaillancourt.bsky.social
Politics Editor, The Smoky Mountain News. Seen/heard WaPo/NPR/CNN & elsewhere. Views=mine. Disclaimers=weird. #ncpol #ncga #helene #AVL #NC11 #election2024
Imp. point in @kyleperrotti.bsky.social story: smokymountainnews.com/news/edwards... The #nc11 GOP executive committee that will decide who replaces Chuck Edwards on the ballot in Nov. is *not* simply the 5 officers listed on the web site It includes 61 party leaders from throughout the district
FRESH: Edwards had been critical of 2022 Primary opponent Madison Cawthorn for missing votes. #ncpol
Chuck Edwards skipped votes to visit female staffer, ethics texts show
Committee exhibits show the NC-11 Republican prioritized private time with an aide over being present for votes and a town hall with his constituents.
citizen-times.com
At Comic Con on a panel I got a question about the state of book bans in America. I don’t believe book bans are the biggest problem right now and the term itself is outdated. Here’s why. #comiccon #bookbans #education #publishing
Lots of people talking about this documentary, and I understand why — I've seen it. It's powerful and at times hard to watch, but serves as a lasting testament to the power of community.
‘Scars on the Mountain’ preserves Yancey County’s Helene story
A new documentary follows Yancey County survivors through Tropical Storm Helene’s destruction, grief and recovery.
citizen-times.com
I was just denied entry into a Michael Whatley campaign event at the Waynesville Rec Center — a non-ticketed, free event advertised publicly for weeks with no mention of RSVP in online promo materials.
Haywood GOP officials bar Citizen Times reporter from Whatley event
Local Republican officials denied entry to a publicly advertised event despite a warning from Waynesville’s town attorney.
citizen-times.com
While holding up to $190,000 in insurance company stocks, Whatley helped write flood insurance reform recommendations that could move flood policies into private markets #ncpol
Senate hopeful Whatley backed FEMA plan that could boost his portfolio
GOP Senate candidate Whatley helped write recommendations that could shift flood insurance business toward companies tied to his stock holdings.
citizen-times.com
We all have a lot to think about this week. Start here.
Cherokee people confront America250 with pride, pain
A Cherokee museum marks America 250 with memory, sovereignty and a harder kind of patriotism.
citizen-times.com
This is a love note to The Smoky Mountain News and local watchdog reporting. @coryvaillancourt.bsky.social should be proud. National issues often surface at county commission and city council meetings, and sometimes no local media are watching. #ncpol
WataugaWatch@wataugawatch.bsky.social · 2mo agoThe Rain in Swain blog.wataugawatch.net/2026/06/swai...
I drove 6,100 miles to rediscover what it means to be an American. Check out Across America at 250 - now available! Watch, share + comment on YouTube! #america250 #america #usa #history #travel www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jb6s...
I traveled across the country to see what it really means to be American
YouTube video by Spectrum News
youtube.com
"Islands in the Sky: A People’s History of Hurricane Helene" launches tonight at the Edneyville Community Center, 5-8 p.m. — get your copy, meet creators & celebrate this milestone in one of the communities most affected by Helene. Free and open to all. See you there! 15 Ida Rogers Rd. Edneyville
“Islands in the Sky,” a crowd-funded graphic anthology, depicts Hurricane Helene through the stories of its survivors #books
Drawing from Real Life
“Islands in the Sky” depicts Hurricane Helene through the stories of its survivors—with the help of some nationally recognized comic writers and artists.
theassemblync.com
NEW: For local governments, Donald Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill has been anything but. #ncpol #WNC
Huge tax hike looms as affordability crisis hits Haywood’s budget
Haywood County’s proposed fiscal year 2026-27 budget carries the kind of consequence that will land in every mailbox and on every mortgage statement across the county — a 7-cent property tax increase,...
smokymountainnews.com
“The movie is stunning. It’s heartbreaking, but still so hopeful. It’s full of hope, in spite of this class system where the power sits in the hands of far away people, which is so wrong." — Dave Matthews, on the forthcoming documentary "Papertown," about Canton's paper mill closing in 2023.
‘Papertown’ Documentary Featuring an Original Song by Dave Matthews Sets Premiere at MountainFilm Festival
"Papertown" documentary featuring a new song by Dave Matthews Band sets premiere at MountainFilm Festival.
variety.com
Small-town America is slowly realizing that data center moratoriums are part of a larger fight.
Clyde enacts moratorium as broader data center fight builds
The tiny Haywood County Town of Clyde has joined a growing number of Western North Carolina communities by formalizing its opposition to data centers through a 12-month moratorium, but with limited ju...
smokymountainnews.com
. @coryvaillancourt.bsky.social reports that Anna Ferguson has been chosen to fill the NC-119 seat (Jackson, Swain, Transylvania) & will appear on the Nov '26 ballot She will be the 1st woman & the first enrolled member of the EBCI in the #ncga House #ncpol smokymountainnews.com/news/item/41...
Republicans select replacement for late Rep. Clampitt
The Republican parties of Jackson, Swain and Transylvania counties, during a joint meeting, selected a replacement for Rep. Mike Clampitt (R-Swain), who passed away March 18 at age 71 following a prol...
smokymountainnews.com
NEW: another storm is coming — in the form of campaign ads about federal failures in Helene recovery. #ncpol #election2026
Helene relief failures fuel attack ads in NC Senate race
A new political ad marks a sharp escalation in the U.S. Senate race between Democrat Roy Cooper and Republican Michael Whatley, turning Hurricane Helene recovery into a central line of attack by accus...
smokymountainnews.com
Promises of federal reform are easy to make, but harder to spot in the wreckage of a devastating natural disaster.
FEMA 2.0 — what the leaked draft of the FEMA Review Council report really means
A leaked draft of the FEMA Review Council’s final report on reform of the disaster response agency appears to shift considerable burden onto states, local governments, tribes and territories (SLTTs) w...
smokymountainnews.com
It's not quite the "milltown without a mill" story I've been writing for years, but it is a "small town without a post office" story, which to the people of Webster is just as impactful — but in completely different ways.
Webster’s post office disappears. A town loses its center.
It was always more than just a place to pick up the mail. Long before asphalt and electronic highways reduced time and space to mere trivialities, a quieter system stitched scattered settlements toget...
smokymountainnews.com
Is the D-trip's “Red to Blue” a boost … or a thumb on the scale? Yes, say candidates.
Dems’ ‘Red to Blue’ list sparks Primary Election backlash
Western North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District has been a Republican stronghold for more than a decade, but the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s decision to elevate Buncombe County ...
smokymountainnews.com
Here's some context on the DCCC's "red to blue" program, which includes #nc11's Jamie Ager (see @coryvaillancourt.bsky.social's story below). #ncpol Thanks to @the-downballot.com & @cookpolitical.com for making their data available.
Chris Cooper@chriscooperwcu.bsky.social · 6mo agoMore eyes on #nc11 Sorry by @coryvaillancourt.bsky.social #ncpol smokymountainnews.com/news/item/40...
National Democrats just signaled they see opportunity in NC-11. Jamie Ager has been added to the DCCC’s “Red to Blue” program — a designation reserved for candidates the party believes can compete in Republican-held districts. For a seat long considered safe for the GOP, that’s a notable shift.
National Democrats make serious play in Western North Carolina
In a move that underscores shifting political terrain in Western North Carolina, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has placed a candidate in North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District ...
smokymountainnews.com
Western Carolina University students just turned early voting into a 1.53-mile protest. After the on-campus polling site was closed, they marched a busy four-lane highway to cast ballots — saying if access gets harder, their resolve gets stronger. #ncpol
WCU students march miles to vote after on-campus polling site closure
They left campus on foot — with signs raised, chants echoing across the valley under clear blue winter skies — turning a routine civic act into a noisy, high-visibility public rebuke. On Feb. 13, roug...
smokymountainnews.com
Big Data sought a foothold in Canton. Canton said, "Not so fast."
A hard no to high-tech: Canton passes data center moratorium
As the sun set over Canton on Feb. 11, the scene at the town’s makeshift municipal building more closely resembled that of a trendy big-city nightclub. More than 100 people had lined up outside, hoping to join the other 49 people who’d pushed the modular double-wide’s fire code to its absolute limit...
smokymountainnews.com
BREAKING: The Town of Canton has unanimously passed a moratorium on data centers. More to come on this soon.
Threats and extortion will not change the truth or our reporting about it.
Local media won’t bow to threats, lies
The Sylva Herald and The Smoky Mountain News last Friday received anonymous emails threatening both publications if the papers, specifically The Herald, do not report on the Fontana Regional Library k...
smokymountainnews.com
Alex Drueke, who helped train and fought alongside Ukrainian forces in 2022 and became a Russian POW, will speak in Waynesville tomorrow. I spoke with him today.
Former POW Alex Drueke speaks ahead of Waynesville appearance tomorrow
On Saturday, Jan. 17, Grace Church in the Mountains in Waynesville will host a daylong series of worship services, presentations and artistic offerings focused on peace, education and action in respon...
smokymountainnews.com
“It’s a war on students,” board member Siobhan O’Duffy Millen, a retired attorney from Raleigh, said shortly after the board voted Jan. 13 to strip early voting sites from historically Black NCA&T University and UNC-Greensboro in Guilford County and shortly before doing the same thing to WCU.
State board rubber-stamps Jackson early voting plan
The Republican-led North Carolina State Board of Elections voted 3-2 along party lines to allow the closure of a Democrat-leaning early voting site at Western Carolina University, against overwhelming...
smokymountainnews.com