Laurel Park operates under a council-manager form of government. The Council consists of the mayor elected for a term of four years and four commissioners elected for staggered terms of four years. The Council is the policy-making body and appoints a manager. The manager is the chief administrator responsible for the administration of all departments and handles the day-to-day operations of the Town.

Carey was elected to the Council in 2009 and was elected Mayor in November 2011. Prior to serving on Council, Carey served as President of the Laurel Park Civic Association for three years. He grew up in Hendersonville and lives with his wife Lutrelle Livingston, a native of Laurel Park, in the Echo area of our community. Carey graduated from Clemson University with a degree in architectural construction in 1972. He worked as a commercial general contractor in Denver, CO; Birmingham, AL; and Raleigh, NC before retiring in 2005. He continues to be actively involved with improving and enhancing the beauty of our Town. Carey and Lutrelle have four grown children.

Rich was elected to the Town Council in 2007 and re-elected in 2011. Prior to his election, he served on the Town Planning Board. He represents Laurel Park on the LGCCA and serves as the Town’s Mayor Pro Tempore. Rich is a native Tarheel. He grew up in Smithfield, North Carolina and currently resides in the Sky Village area of our community. Rich is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in Political Science and Speech Communication. He served for 26 years in Sales, Sales Management, Marketing, and Account Management in the Pulp and Paper Industry.

Paul was appointed to the Council on January 17, 2012 to fill a Council vacancy. Prior to serving on the Council, Paul was on the Laurel Park Civic Association Board for 10 years and served several terms as President. He was Chairman of the Laurel Park Planning Board for 4 of the 9 years he served on that board and has also been a member of the Laurel Park Parks & Greenways Board since its inception. He has been a homeowner in Laurel Park since 1980 and a summer visitor to Henderson County for 60 years. Paul graduated from Clemson University with a BS degree in Electrical Engineering. In 2000, he retired from Honeywell after 25 years in the international aerospace industry.

Dona was elected to the Council in 2001 and re-elected in 2005 and 2009; prior to her election she served on the Board of Adjustment. Dona serves both as the Town's Finance Officer and its representative to the Land of Sky Regional Council. She has lived in Country Ridge since 1992. Dona holds a BA degree from George Mason University and a master's degree from the University of Maryland. She retired from SAIC in 1994 where she designed and developed information systems as a consultant for government and industry and wrote technical papers which she presented at conferences here and abroad. Prior to that, she worked at Booz, Allen, and Hamilton in their Energy and Environment Division and at the Smithsonian Institution as a researcher for their joint program with the Peace Corps. She is married to Robert and has two daughters.

Bob was appointed to the Council in February 2007 to fill a Council vacancy. He was elected to Council in November 2007 and re-elected to Council in November 2011. Prior to serving on Council, he served on the Town Planning Board. Bob represents Laurel Park on both the Henderson County Transportation Advisory Committee and the French Broad River Metropolitan Organization Transportation Advisory Committee. He lives in the Timber Creek area of our community. Bob is a graduate of Clemson University with a degree in Architecture. He practiced for fifteen years before becoming involved in construction program management. Bob managed and worked on many local projects including additions to the Grove Park Inn in Asheville, the Peace Center, and the First Union bank tower in Greenville, S.C. He retired several years ago from the City of Asheville where he served as the assistant Director of the Building Safety Department.

Jim became Laurel Park’s Town Manager on September 2, 1997 and lives in the Fleetwood section of our community. Jim is a native of Bristol, Tennessee and served 23 years in the U. S. Army retiring from the service as a Lieutenant Colonel. He holds a BS degree in Business Management from East Tennessee State University and a master’s degree in Business Administration from Florida Institute of Technology. Also, Jim successfully completed a one year course in Municipal Administration taught by the School of Government, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.