In Helene's wake, WNC congressional candidates Rudow, Edwards want to rebuild the region

ASHEVILLE – State Rep. Caleb Rudow was in high school when remnants of Hurricanes Ivan and Frances swept through Western North Carolina bringing torrential rains that led to 11 deaths and more than $200 million in damages across the region.

After the storms passed, Rudow and his friends from North Asheville went out and helped clear roads, he recalled, just do their part to help the community recover.

Now, 20 years later, in the wake of Tropical Storm Helene, which swept through the region Sept. 27, killing more than 100 people in the state and causing more than $50 billion in estimated damage, he’s serving in the North Carolina General Assembly, advocating and helping his constituents in District 116 rebuild.

At the same time Rudow, 38, a Democrat, is aiming for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, campaigning to replace Rep. Chuck Edwards, a Republican representing WNC's 11th Congressional District. Edwards is seeking his second term in Congress.

The Citizen Times spoke to Rudow and Edwards ahead of the Nov. 5 election to discuss how they both share a new priority after Helene: rebuilding the region.

FEMA, Congress and the General Assembly

Much like Rudow, Edwards, 64, has been helping people in WNC, specifically working to connect people with resources to restore electricity and water service and other immediate needs, he said.

“I've been fighting for the people in Western North Carolina for the last five weeks in rebuilding this state,” told the Citizen Times Nov. 1.

He’s also working to ensure the Federal Emergency Management Agency is doing “their job,” he said.

While Edwards stood up for the agency in early October, speaking out to debunk myths spreading in the region that FEMA was inhibiting rescue operations and was merely out to seize peoples’ property, he said he’s now “extremely disappointed” in the agency.

He claimed FEMA took three days to establish a significant presence in the region, and that the agency is “aloof in how they communicate.” He also described the aid application process as “abysmal.”

In what is Edwards' first natural disaster as a member of Congress, Helene has provided him an opportunity to witness the government's approach in a more personal way.

And what he’s seeing, Edwards said, is proof that Congressional oversight of FEMA appears to be broken.

“I think the real problem starts there, in that FEMA is not truly accountable to Congress,” Edwards said.

Rudow, too, is frustrated, but not with FEMA. Much of his concern lies with the N.C. General Assembly and Congress, where his opponent serves.

“Rebuilding has to be the No. 1 priority,” Rudow said. “The big challenge with that is it needs to be happening quickly.”

And long-term recovery requires significant funding.

On Oct. 23, Gov. Roy Cooper requested state lawmakers pass an aid package totaling nearly $4 billion. Instead, the General Assembly passed a $644 million relief bill, one that didn’t include direct grants to small business owners, many of whom are struggling not only with damage and destruction, but financial losses due to decreased tourism in the disaster’s aftermath.

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“It’s frustrating to see both the North Carolina House and the U.S. House not take a quick step to bring more money and funding in,” Rudow said.

At the federal level, Congress won’t consider additional funding for disaster victims until after the election.

For the money to rebuild to start pouring in, Rudow believes two things are required.

“It’s getting out there and pushing for it,” he said.

“And we have to have reps who want to play nice with FEMA and the other agencies that are doing this work.”

Henderson County Reporter Deirdra Funcheon contributed to this reporting.

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Jacob Biba is the county watchdog reporter at the Asheville Citizen Times. Reach him at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: In Tropical Storm Helene's wake, Rudow and Edwards work to rebuild WNC