A Can-do Attitude in Canton

By: Michele Lynn 

The passion that Zeb Smathers ’08 feels for his hometown is palpable. As the eighth generation of his family to live in Canton, Smathers relishes the opportunity to serve as mayor, as his father did in the early 2000s. The younger Smathers was first elected as mayor in November 2017, after a four-year term on the town’s Board of Aldermen, and plans to run for reelection this year.  

Like other Western North Carolina towns, Canton suffered the wrath of Hurricane Helene in October 2024. That was the latest challenge to face the community and its mayor in the past five years. Before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Smathers and his wife, Ashley, experienced the traumatic birth of their son, Stone. Then flooding from 2021’s Tropical Storm Fred caused extensive damage in the town. In 2023, Canton faced the closing of a major employer, a paper mill which shuttered after 115 years of operation. 

Smathers is proud of his town. “I was born to a great family, in a great town, at a great time,” said Smathers. “When you’re born with blessings in a place where people may not have had the same opportunities, you have a responsibility to have their back.” 

Smathers advocates for his community both through his work as mayor and at Smathers and Smathers, the general law practice where he and his father represent community members. “No one ever walks into my office having their best day,” he said. “Whether that is someone with a speeding ticket, a child custody case, or a criminal matter — for that person, it is the biggest problem in the world, and they are turning to me for help.” 

Smathers, who says that he is in the hope business, works to inspire others and change lives, both through his law practice and his unpaid job as mayor. Recently, that has included serving as a leader in bipartisan hurricane relief efforts. In November 2024, he joined then-Governor Roy Cooper, current Governor Josh Stein, the mayor of Asheville, several Buncombe County commissioners, the mayor of Lake Lure, and the mayor of Chimney Rock in Washington, D.C., where they met with then-President Joe Biden in the Oval Office. That was followed by a day of lobbying on Capitol Hill with members of the North Carolina congressional delegation, including Senators Thom Tillis and Ted Budd and Representative Chuck Edwards. 

“I can’t speak enough about the leadership we saw in those meetings,” said Smathers. “These are people who may not often see things the same way, but they agree on the needs in Western North Carolina.” He hopes that the federal and state governments step up to provide the financial assistance needed by his town and others in the region. “The standard I’m holding for everyone, including myself, is, ‘Can you look in the eyes of the people who have lost everything and say that you are doing everything possible?’ Because if we’re not, we’re failing them,” he said. 

Smathers said that his years at Carolina Law shaped him. “UNC-Chapel Hill is built around the ethos that every town and person in North Carolina matters,” he said. “Our small towns are special.” He encourages attorneys to practice in small communities, noting that the rewards are both financial and emotional. “Having my clients bring me a holiday gift — sometimes a bottle of bourbon or a rum cake — shows me the connections I am building among my neighbors,” he said. 

Seeing the growth of the Triangle area during his years in Chapel Hill inspired Smathers to use his skills and knowledge to help Canton as it struggled as its downtown faced economic decline. “With the mill gone and no restaurants or breweries, some people had the idea that we were just an old rundown town with its best days behind it,” he said. “They were wrong.” 

Seeing the development of the arts and foodie scenes in Asheville, just 20 minutes from Canton, Smathers believed that his town could also grow and bring in new people, ideas and money, without changing the essence of the community. Noting that many stores and tourist attractions are now open, he encourages visitors to support the economy in hurricane-impacted towns. 

“I appreciate people telling the story of Canton and especially what we’ve been through the last four years,” he said. “I always remind people that I don’t want to be a story of pity. I want to be a story of hope.”

This story was originally published in the March 2025 issue of Carolina Law Magazine.