Politics

Weedman to retire, Coletta to run for mayor of Flat Rock

By Lightning Reports, Published: November 20, 2023

FLAT ROCK — Flat Rock Mayor Nick Weedman announced Monday that he will not seek re-election when his term of office ends in December 2024, and in an announcement the two made jointly, Vice Mayor Anne Coletta said she will seek the top post.

The filing period for the November 2024 municipal elections in Henderson County is Dec. 4-15. Announcing his intentions now, Weedman, said gives potential candidates time to consider running and to file.

First elected to the Village Council in 2003 and elected mayor in 2019, Weedman will have served 21 years as a board member and mayor when his term is up. For most of that time he served as the village finance officer.

“I will be leaving the Village in good shape both in financial terms and in accomplishments by the Village,” he said. “As the finance officer, part of my responsibility was to oversee the collection of property taxes on real and personal property. Our collection rates have been 100 percent for every year in which we had property taxes. There is not a single delinquent property tax since we started collecting in 2005.”

“We have a small but outstanding Village staff and are proud of their service,” he added. “Our Village Council members are excellent and a joy to work with. … I have been honored to serve as a council member, finance officer, and mayor of the village. I will miss serving but will leave the Village in outstanding hands to continue to retain the unique historical character of the municipality.”

Elected to the Flat Rock Village Council for two terms and appointed vice mayor in 2020, Coletta vowed if elected to continue Weedman’s “careful and principled stewardship of the Village.”

“I’m knowledgeable about village operations and our place in Henderson County,” she said. “I’ll continue to make decisions based on what is best for the village and its residents as a whole, keeping in mind that the village encompasses the largest historic district in the state of North Carolina.

“With family connections in Flat Rock going back generations, I have seen the village grow in population yet still keep its rural sense of place,” she added. “I think it’s important that we retain our rural mountain character even as we work hard to develop solutions for any issues that may arise. As an involved member on several regional and county governmental boards, I have solid working relationships with our county commissioners as well as municipal and other governing officials.”

A graduate of Davidson College, Coletta has lived in Flat Rock full-time since 2010. She and her husband, Paul, have two adult children, Nikki and John, and attend St. Edmund Campion Catholic Church in Flat Rock.