ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, February 28, 1996 TAG: 9602280035
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ROBERT W. GLENN JR.
RECENTLY, Roanoke City Councilman Mac McCadden recommended that the city's attorney provide options regarding the possibility of ``nonpartisan'' elections of City Council. The recommendation was supported by Mayor David Bowers and the majority of City Council members.
This, of course, doesn't mean that City Council will change the way it's elected. At this point, it's only looking at options. It must vote to ask the General Assembly to change the city's charter before any change could be made. The earliest this could occur is in the 1997 General Assembly session.
Council members are to be congratulated on their desire to look at their options, and to perhaps make changes that will help move our region forward.
We (the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce) feel it's very important for as many good people as possible to seek local elective office, and we believe that nonpartisan elections for City Council will encourage more people to seek office.
Our community and region have an unusual opportunity to grow economically. Therefore, the way we invest our tax dollars today will impact our immediate and long-term growth.
This is a major responsibility of City Council. We need people in public office who can provide the leadership necessary to make the critical choices. Decisions that need to be made aren't ``partisan,'' but economic. We need people who understand the importance of regional cooperation, and the need for business, government and education to work closely together to meet the challenges of today's highly competitive and changed world.
Peter A. Harkness, publisher of Governing, a magazine for local governments, said in the December 1995 issue:
``If we [as a magazine] have learned anything in publishing Governing over the past eight years, it is that there is no more important ingredient in the success of government at any level than strong leadership. There isn't any management theorem or fad, administrative process or new gimmick that can substitute for strong and effective leadership - as an elected executive setting the direction for a state or city, a legislator groping for consensus in a state assembly or county council, an appointee at any level trying to cope with rising demand and dwindling resources, or a career public servant working to keep everyone honest.''
This is a serious attempt to consider a change that can have a very positive impact. McCadden and City Council members have taken a positive step forward.
Robert W. Glenn Jr. is chairman of the board for the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce.
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