THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, January 30, 1996 TAG: 9601300291
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KAREN WEINTRAUB AND DEBBIE MESSINA, STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 73 lines
The State Board of Elections on Thursday will examine the language of a ballot question that could determine whether city officials are elected at-large or by ward.
Last year, the General Assembly directed the council to draft a ballot question by Jan. 1 to be presented to voters in May.
The council members, making no secret of the fact that they would like to keep the present system, wrote a question that critics charge favors the status quo.
Currently, all council and School Board members are elected by all citizens, although seven members are considered ``borough representatives'' and must live within the districts they represent. If voters support a change, the seven district-representatives on both bodies would be elected only by the residents of their respective districts.
The question the majority of the council would like to see on the May ballot is: ``Should the city council member elected to represent a particular borough be elected by all qualified voters throughout the city (an at-large system) rather than only by the qualified voters residing in that particular borough (a ward system)?
``If you wish to vote for all 11 council seats, vote YES! If you prefer to vote for only 5 of the 11 council seats, vote NO!''
A resident must vote ``yes'' to keep the current system, and ``no'' for a new one.
Virginia Beach City Attorney Leslie L. Lilley said the General Assembly clearly gave the council the power to draft the ballot language and the question complies with all state laws.
But M. Bruce Meadows, secretary of the State Board of Elections, said last week that his agency is troubled by the language.
``The State Board of Elections has a concern about the wording of the question,'' he said. ``It's not the standard ballot question.''
Meadows said he expects the board to discuss its concerns Thursday in a closed-door meeting. Neither Meadows, nor James W. Hopper, senior assistant attorney general, and counsel to the board of elections, would comment further on the board's interest in the question or power to change it.
In a letter dated Dec. 20, Hopper told the City Attorney's office that the ballot question ``is an improper instruction to voters, directing the voter how to vote.''
Hopper went on to say that the state board would consider independent legal action to correct the portions of the ballot question it considered ``defective.''
In a Dec. 27 ruling, Virginia Beach Circuit Judge Jerome B. Friedman ruled the language complied with state law.
Virginia Beach Vice Mayor W.D. Sessoms Jr. said he also thinks the question is appropriate.
``The city attorney's office went right by the rule book in developing the questions,'' he said. ``It's written well within the parameters that (have) been set.''
The council's intent was merely to write a question that was easily understandable, not to sway public opinion, he said.
Two years ago, when voters were asked to consider a similar measure, many said they were confused by the wording of the question. The more recent question ``makes it real clear what you're being asked to do,'' Sessoms said.
The state legislature also directed the council to draw new district lines, equalizing the populations of the boroughs which now range from about 1,000 people to more than 150,000. The council is expected to approve a new district map Feb. 6.
KEYWORDS: GENERAL ASSEMBLY WARD SYSTEM CITY COUNCIL ELECTION by CNB