Candidates for Party Office

Second Vice Chair (Training)

Denise Marecki was lucky enough to be born into a Democratic family and has never wavered. She spent most of her life in Michigan, except for a 5-year stint in Beijing China. She and her husband moved to Fairview in 2014. She is retired now after a long career in nutrition/dietetics and consulting/training in the wellness industry.

Denise has extensive local political party experience. This includes being the 2016 GOTV coordinator for Buncombe County Democratic Party (BCDP), which provided a hit-the ground running experience. She was also the BCDP 1 st Vice Chair, working closely with Chair Jeff Rose, from 2017-2021. During those 2 terms, she focused on strengthening the cluster organization, which translated into stronger and more active precincts. She also organized and trained hundreds of volunteers to provide an effective GOTV operation. In addition, she established a leadership operations team during Early Voting and Election Day to assist to volunteers in the field and provide voter protection support.

From 2021-23, Denise served as 2nd Vice-Chair with District 11 Democrats and gained a broader view of challenges for those in rural areas. Most recently, she has served as BCDP Cluster Leader Coordinator over the past 9 months.

Denise has studied adult education and written extensive curriculum programs, delivering programs to a wide variety of participants.

Denise’s goal is to promote and support the work of the Training Committee, already in high gear. She hopes to promote training opportunities more broadly. Personally, Denise enjoys walks with her dog, acrylic painting, and spending time with her family, especially her 4 young grandchildren.

Third Vice Chair (Communications)

The Third Vice Chair’s responsibilities include managing Communications for the Buncombe County Democratic Party. Terri Cude has more than 30 years of professional experience in this field. After starting in journalism, she spent her career in advertising, marketing, website development and trade show displays with a focus on creating integrated marketing campaigns. She currently works part-time on the Public Relations team for the National Dog Show television broadcast on NBC every Thanksgiving.

A lifelong Democrat, Terri became an elected official in New York City after running a competitive race, beating a 10-year incumbent. At the same time, she was a Community Board Chair as well as the PR & Social Media Chair for a large Democratic club. These were all unpaid positions dedicated to raising the visibility and effectiveness of the organizations, candidates, and the people they serve.

Terri found a home here in Asheville in 2017. She greatly enjoys collaborating with the Dems of her local precinct and cluster, as well as county-wide as a member of the BCDP Communications Committee. She gives huge credit to Barret Phillips who worked so hard, plus assembled an outstanding team!

Terri looks forward to working with the BCDP, candidates and elected officials towards our shared goals. These include protecting the quality of life in Buncombe and beyond by preserving our environment, supporting excellence in public education, reducing gun violence, increasing equity, and protecting reproductive, voting, and LGBTQ+ rights and the needs of marginalized communities.