A former Hendersonville City Council member Jerry Smith announced a 2026 run for city mayor.
Smith promises to promote “greenways, parks and public amenities that enhance quality of life.
Smith served on the Hendersonville City Council from 2009 to 2023 and was mayor pro tem from 2019 to 2021. Smith is registered as a Democrat, according to a North Carolina State Board of Elections database, but city council elections are nonpartisan.
He was a high school teacher at Henderson County Public Schools for 24 years, at Hendersonville and East Henderson high schools.
He resigned from the city council in 2023, saying it would let him be more present for his family and parents.
Smith moved from Arden, where he lived briefly after leaving the city council, back to Hendersonville with his wife and three children in June.
“When (Mayor Barbara Volk) decided not to run, then that really made it easy for me to decide,” he said.
Smith is up against current Hendersonville Mayor Pro Tem Jennifer Hensley, who has served on the city council for five years and announced her campaign for mayor last month, immediately after Volk announced her retirement.
Smith says he had 14 years on council.
