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

DATE: TUESDAY, August 9, 1994                   TAG: 9408090086
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By MICHAEL STOWE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

BOWERS SAYS WARD SYSTEM DECISION UP TO VOTERS

Roanoke Mayor David Bowers says the final decision on changing to a ward election system should be left to citizens, but he fears it might weaken minority voting strength and make the city "a pawn" of the federal government.

Speaking at Monday's City Council meeting, Bowers reiterated his stance that a switch from at-large elections to a ward system is "a fundamental change" that should be decided in a referendum.

"This is not a decision I'm going to make by myself," he said. "I do intend to move this issue along."

At Bowers' request, City Council scheduled a public hearing for 7 p.m. Sept. 12 to let residents talk about whether the city should change its election process.

Bowers said a ward system might make it tougher for black candidates to get elected. He noted that council's two black members - Delvis "Mac" McCadden and William White - make up 28.6 percent of city council, while only 21.8 percent of the city's voting population is black.

"A move toward the ward system may dilute minority representation," he said.

City Attorney Wilburn Dibling gave council a 19-page report outlining what the city would have to do to scrap its at-large system.

Proponents of the ward system say it's not about race, but about representation for all areas.

"I feel like we're kind of forgotten," said Lenora Williams, who lives in Southeast Roanoke.

McCadden pointed out that at least one member of council lives in each quadrant of the city. Bowers lives in Southeast; Elizabeth Bowles, White and Linda Wyatt live in Northwest; John Edwards and Jack Parrott live in Southwest; and McCadden lives in Northeast.

Dibling said it would likely take until 1998 to implement a new system because it would need to be approved by the General Assembly and the U.S. Department of Justice.

Williams told council that a ward system is needed, no matter how many years it takes.

"If it takes until the year 2000, I think it would still be a good thing to come about," she said.

The mayor said he's worried that the Justice Department might propose major changes to any plan.

"At that point, we become less the makers of our own destiny ... and become more pawns of the federal government."

by CNB