- Title
- City Manager, City of Asheville (Dakisha “DK” Wesley)
- In this role since
- January 12, 2026 (appointed unanimously by council December 5, 2025, from more than 50 applicants; previously assistant county manager, Buncombe County, July 2019 to January 2026; before that Lake County, IL, where she oversaw the Law & Judicial portfolio, and 12 years with Fort Worth, TX)
- Current term ends
- — (serves at council’s pleasure; not elected)
- Next voter decision
- none directly; the council that hires and fires the city manager is on the ballot Nov 3, 2026 · Election 2026
Asheville runs on the council-manager system: council approves decisions and the manager carries them out. For the RTIC, the contract terms and the choice of police chief are the manager’s.
Record on cameras and surveillance
- May 7, 2026. Five days before the RTIC vote, told council the Axon agreement it was about to authorize “does not exist yet… B2 will give me authorization to further negotiate and finalize that contract with Axon.” In the same briefing, when Roney noted that the operative Axon documents were hard to find on the city site: “they’re public documents, so there’s no reason why we cannot ensure access.” The briefing record.
- May 12, 2026. Council authorized her to negotiate and sign the 7.5-year Axon contract, 6 to 1. The final terms (retention, data ownership, the data program, termination rights, renewal pricing) are whatever the executed contract says.
- July 16, 2026. Emails released Aug 20, 2026 show APD’s business manager telling Axon’s representative the contract was ready for signature.
- August 4, 2026. Signed City of Asheville Contract 92700065 with Axon, $7,423,161.15 to Dec 31, 2033, which the city posted in August on its Technology and Public Safety page (the contract, as signed). The itemized quote and the 20-camera Fleet contract are not posted (request 1 · row 12).
- August 25, 2026. After council terminated the Flock contract, gave the assurance that stands in place of the plate-reader moratorium that failed for lack of a second: “we do have a contract with [Axon]… before any conversation can happen around putting up the stationary fixed location [ALPRs]… absolutely not, we will not put those up until that community conversation happens.” Her staff also committed to notify council when the Flock data deletion is complete. The meeting record.
The permanent police chief is her appointment. Applications closed July 31, 2026, and the city said a “comprehensive and collaborative search” would produce a name by the end of September 2026 (WLOS). The chief inherits the RTIC, the commitments APD made, and Policy 1703, which can be revised without a council vote.
Her Buncombe County service, July 2019 to January 2026, overlapped the period in which the sheriff’s office built its Fusus camera network (Buncombe County). Which county departments she oversaw was not published, and no public record connects her county role to the sheriff’s office.
In her words
- “they’re public documents, so there’s no reason why we cannot ensure access.” (agenda briefing, May 7, 2026)
- “we will not put those up until that community conversation happens.” (council, Aug 25, 2026, on stationary Axon plate readers)
What is pending with her
- The itemized Axon quote and the 20-camera Fleet contract, not posted as of Sept 23, 2026; the contract itself was posted in August.
- The permanent chief, expected by the end of September 2026.
- The community conversation before any stationary Axon plate reader. No date set as of Sept 8, 2026.
- The notice to council that the Flock data deletion is complete, committed to Aug 25, 2026.
- The transparency dashboard, restored Aug 20, 2026 after a 404 (row 10).
Related: Jackie Stepp · 2026-05-07 Agenda Briefing · What Axon Contracts Do · Records Center · Promise Tracker
Region: Asheville · Last verified: September 8, 2026