LYNCHBURG SYSTEM URGED AS NEW COUNCIL VOTING PLAN

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, February 6, 1992                   TAG: 9202060470
SECTION: NEIGHBORS                    PAGE: S5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER MUNICIPAL WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium
LYNCHBURG SYSTEM URGED AS NEW COUNCIL VOTING PLAN
If Roanoke abandons its at-large system for choosing City Council members, it should adopt a mixed election plan with some members elected by wards and the others chosen at-large.
That was the advice of a political science professor who is a member of Lynchburg City Council.
Joseph Freeman said Lynchburg uses the mixed system - also known as a modified-ward plan - and it has worked well since it was enacted 15 years ago. Before 1976, Lynchburg used an at-large system for choosing a seven-member council. With one exception, it was similar to Roanoke's system. Lynchburg's mayor is chosen by council members while Roanoke's mayor is chosen directly by the voters.
Lynchburg was forced to abandon its at-large system after expanding its boundaries because the U.S. Justice Department determined that it diluted black voting strength, said Freeman, a professor at Lynchburg College.
Lynchburg switched to a system with four members elected by wards and three chosen at-large.
"We have a broader-based council without sacrificing the concerns of the whole city," Freeman said. "It has given a voice to some neighborhood groups that didn't have much previously."
Freeman spoke recently to the Task Force on Alternative Election Systems, a citizens' group that was appointed by Roanoke City Council to determine whether the city needs to change its at-large system.
Freeman said he thinks a pure ward system would help foster divisions within a city and make it difficult for council to reach a consensus on issues.
Under the terms that the 14-member task force was created, one option would be to recommend that Roanoke's at-large system be retained. The study is expected to take six months.
Council members have said they may submit the issue to city voters in a referendum this fall.
If council decides to seek a change, it must get the approval of the General Assembly as well as the Justice Department.
Of 41 cities in Virginia, 30 use an at-large system, seven select council members by wards and four have a mixed system. Richmond and Petersburg are the largest cities with ward systems.
Buena Vista and Covington are the only two cities in Western Virginia with ward systems. Lynchburg is the largest municipality in the state with a mixed system.

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB