Esther E. Manheimer is an American politician and attorney serving as the mayor of

Asheville, North Carolina Asheville ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the state's 11th-most populous cit ...

Early life and education

Manheimer was born on July 24, 1971, in the hamlet of Skyum Bjerge in Thy,

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

, to American expat parents. She has two siblings. Her family returned to the United States when she was three, and she lived in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

Olympia The name Olympia may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Olympia'' (1938 film), by Leni Riefenstahl, documenting the Berlin-hosted Olympic Games * ''Olympia'' (1998 film), about a Mexican soap opera star who pursues a career as an athlet ...

Spokane Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Ca ...

, and

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House (1820, rebuilt 1849), which in ...

before moving to Asheville when she was 17.Forbes, David (January 21, 2015).
An interview with Mayor Esther Manheimer
. ''The Asheville Blade''. Manheimer graduated from the

University of Colorado Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado syst ...

, and she served as campus director of the American Movement for Israel and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in anthropology. She attended the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

, earning degrees in law and a

Master of Public Administration The Master of Public Administration (M.P.Adm., M.P.A., or MPA) is a specialized higher professional post graduate degree in public administration, similar/ equivalent to the Master of Business Administration but with an emphasis on the issues of ...

Career

After graduating from

, Manheimer returned to

in 2002. She was elected to the Asheville City Council in 2009 and served until 2013. She was elected mayor of Asheville in 2013. In March 2016, Manheimer spoke out against the controversial

Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act The Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act, commonly known as House Bill 2 or HB2, was a North Carolina statute passed in March 2016 and signed into law by Governor Pat McCrory. The bill amended state law to preempt any anti-discrimination o ...

, state legislation that eliminated anti-discrimination protections for the

LGBT community The LGBT community (also known as the LGBTQ+ community, GLBT community, gay community, or queer community) is a loosely defined grouping of lesbian, gay men, gay, bisexuality, bisexual, transgender, and other queer individuals united by a comm ...

. In June 2021, Manheimer was one of 11 U.S. mayors to form Mayors Organized for Reparations and Equity (MORE), a coalition of municipal leaders dedicated to starting pilot

reparations Reparation(s) may refer to: Christianity * Restitution (theology), the Christian doctrine calling for reparation * Acts of reparation, prayers for repairing the damages of sin History *War reparations **World War I reparations, made from G ...

programs in their cities."11 U.S. Mayors Commit To Developing Pilot Projects For Reparations,"
''Associated Press'' (June 18, 2021) (Earlier, in July 2020, the Asheville City Council had "voted to approve reparations in the form of investments in areas of disparity for Black residents.")

Personal life

Manheimer is married to Mark Harris. They have three sons. She is the third Jewish mayor of Asheville, after Ken Michalove in 1989 and Leni Sitnik in 1997.

Electoral History

References

Mayors of Asheville, North Carolina Living people Asheville, North Carolina City Council members North Carolina Democrats Women mayors of places in North Carolina Year of birth missing (living people) University of Colorado Boulder alumni University of North Carolina School of Law alumni UNC School of Government alumni Women city councillors in North Carolina 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians Jewish mayors of places in the United States Jewish women politicians Jewish American people in North Carolina politics Jewish American attorneys People from Thisted Municipality 21st-century American Jews {{NorthCarolina-mayor-stub