Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, December 3, 1994 TAG: 9412050035
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAN CASEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
In a move Vice Mayor John Edwards called "jumping the gun" and "premature," state Sen. Brandon Bell has come to the aid of residents who claim council has ignored their pleas for a referendum on substituting a modified ward plan for the city's current at-large election system.
"I'm exploring options, based on current state law, for citizens who are interested in having a referendum," Bell said Wednesday.
"They're frustrated because they don't seem to have any recourse to pursue it. Where is their court of appeals? Is it just a dead issue, or is there some way to have it addressed?" he said.
Bell emphasized that he has taken no position on the issue, nor has he decided what course of action, if any, to take.
He has asked the General Assembly's Department of Legislative Services to outline what could be done to address the concerns of ward system proponents.
However, it's conceivable that Bell could introduce a bill in the 1995 General Assembly that directs the city to hold a referendum on the subject, said the Rev. Charles Green, president of the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
The local chapter has strongly favored switching to a modified ward system for years. Green said he has spoken briefly to Bell on the issue. So has Gary Waldo, another ward system advocate and leader in the Progressive Democratic Coalition.
"If the City Council doesn't put it on the table, that's the route to take to bypass [council]," Green said this week. "But we want to give them a chance to do what they've promised they're going to do ... It's going to look bad for the City Council if [Bell] has to do that."
Such a move also might help the conservative Republican pick up political support among blacks and liberals in the city.
Bell, whose district includes the city and most of Roanoke County, said he intends to let City Council know what he finds out in Richmond. But his actions already have caused a bit of political indigestion for some council members.
Edwards, a potential Democratic opponent to Bell in next year's election, said the city should decide how its elections are held, not the state. Councilmen Jack Parrott and Delvis "Mac" McCadden, both Republicans, agree.
"I don't know what Senator Bell has in mind by way of bypassing the council process, but I'd be surprised if the General Assembly would change the governing structure of a locality without input from the locality ... It's premature, jumping the gun, putting the cart before the horse," Edwards said.
``If we're going to have a referendum, I think it ought to come through council. It takes a huge amount of legal work to develop this thing. You just can't say, `OK, we're going to have a referendum on the ward system,''' Parrott said.
"I don't think it's in the jurisdiction or realm for a state legislator to get involved in this. If [proponents of a ward system] have the support and backing, they can get it done locally," McCadden said.
Mayor David Bowers declined to comment until he hears from Bell and talks it over with other council members. But he pointed out that council did not request any election referendum action from the General Assembly in its recently adopted state legislative program for next year. That will be presented to state lawmakers during a luncheon Dec. 12.
Council members Linda Wyatt, William White and Elizabeth Bowles could not be reached for comment.
The issue last arose before council during a Sept. 12 public hearing that was dominated by opponents of a modified ward plan. The Roanoke NAACP chapter did not attend that hearing, although Waldo spoke in favor of a mixed plan under which some council members would be elected by ward and others at large.
White said after the meeting that the question of a referendum was "in limbo."
While a majority of the current council - Bowers, Wyatt, White, Edwards and Parrott - has publicly supported a referendum on the issue, there has been no action toward getting the question on next year's ballot.
That may be because another majority - Parrott, White, McCadden and Bowles - is against changing the at-large system, even if the council members favor letting voters decide. Bowers, who as a councilman once proposed his own modified ward plan, also has indicated that he now believes changing the current setup would be unwise.
Only Edwards and Wyatt are on record in support of a modified ward plan.
Edwards said he believes council is moving forward on steps toward a possible referendum outlined by City Attorney Wilburn Dibling in a report in September.
But Dibling and Bowers said they are aware of nothing in the works.
by CNB