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

DATE: WEDNESDAY, July 5, 1995                   TAG: 9507050065
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: HAMPTON                                LENGTH: Medium

BLACKS FILE SUIT SEEKING WARD SYSTEM

A group of black activists filed a federal lawsuit Monday alleging that a plan to select three City Council members through at-large voting would discriminate against blacks.

City Council is set to decide on a new election plan today, but members of the activist group - the Blue Ribbon Commission - said they filed the suit because they fear the council will adopt a plan that gives blacks less power than they have in School Board elections.

Blacks make up a majority of voters for three of seven School Board seats, but would control just three of nine City Council seats under a plan the commission fears the council might adopt.

Attorneys for the commission also said the suit is a way to ensure that a new plan is in place before the next city elections in May 1996. Otherwise, a plan could be delayed by the council or by a member of the General Assembly, said Oscar Blayton, a Hampton lawyer representing the commission. The state legislature must approve any voting plan unless a federal judge has issued an order that takes precedence over state approval.

The suit drew a sharp reaction Monday from Councilman Ross Kearney.

``It ticks me off that they are playing this `my way or no way,''' he said. ``It almost makes me say, `Let's not do anything and settle it in the court.'''

Councilman Ross Kearney said he supports a plan that calls for a nine-member council, with six members elected from single-member districts. The remaining three members, including the mayor, would be chosen at large from across the city. He has said the at-large seats are needed to help unify the city and prevent the council from fragmenting along district lines.

Kearney's plan is seen as a way to help incumbent council members hold onto their seats, said J. Gerald Hebert, a former U.S. Justice Department voting rights attorney who represents the commission. Blayton said the at-large component will make the plan appealing to other council members, particularly those who think they might have trouble getting elected from the new wards.

by CNB