Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, January 23, 1992 TAG: 9201230328
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER MUNICIPAL WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
CITY ADVISED TO GET BLACK CONSENSUS ON ELECTIONS
Roanoke should seek a consensus among community and political leaders, especially black leaders, if it wants to get the U.S. Justice Department to approve a new election plan to replace its at-large system for choosing City Council members.That was the advice Wednesday from a lawyer who helped Fredericksburg win federal approval for a modified ward system to replace its at-large system.
"If you go to the Justice Department with a divided black community, you're going to have problems," said James Pates, Fredericksburg city attorney.
"The No. 1 thing is to get a consensus before you go forward with a plan."
Pates said it took Fredericksburg more than six months to gain Justice Department approval of a modified ward plan because political leaders were split on the issue.
Pates, who spoke to a Citizens Task Force to Study Alternative Election Procedure for Roanoke, said changes in election procedures usually revolve around politics.
"Getting federal approval for changes is basically a political issue," he said. "Be prepared to end up with racial politics if you don't get agreement on the changes."
The task force, appointed last month by City Council to determine whether the city needs to change its at-large system, is meeting with officials from several Virginia cities that have made or considered changes in election systems in recent years.
Roanoke and other Southern cities must get Justice Department approval for changes because they are under the jurisdiction of the federal Voting Rights Act to protect black voting rights.
Changes in election procedures can produce turmoil and raise racial issues that are sometimes overlooked in at-large systems, Pates said.
Fredericksburg changed its system in 1987 because, with 11 members, some residents thought it too large and inefficient, Pates said.
The plan initially called for a council with three members chosen by wards, three members selected at large and a mayor chosen at large. It was approved by 57 percent of city voters.
But the Justice Department objected to the plan because there were no wards with a black majority, even though Fredericksburg's population is 20 percent black.
Roanoke council members have said they may submit the issue to city voters in a referendum this fall. However, Pates cautions that holding a referendum could increase the chances the plan would be challenged in courts if there is divided sentiment.
The task force study is expected to take six months. If council decides to seek a change, it must also get the approval of the General Assembly.
Of 41 cities in Virginia, 30 use an at-large system, seven select council members by wards and four have a mixed system.