ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, August 15, 1996 TAG: 9608150079
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAN CASEY STAFF WRITER
CITY OFFICIALS warned residents that creating a plan for electing some City Council members by community rather than at large will take much time, study and effort.
Four months ago, Roanoke City Council told City Manager Bob Herbert to form a committee of residents that would devise a modified ward system election plan to which voters ultimately could say "yea" or "nay."
Wednesday night, that process began in a basement conference room in City Hall. But it's not going to be quick or easy, Herbert and City Attorney Wilburn Dibling told about 15 delegates from various communities.
Even if the committee moves quickly, Dibling said, it is unlikely Roanoke will see ward elections before 2000. And Herbert suggested the panel spend months educating itself on the issue by bringing in outside experts, much as a similar panel did four years ago.
"It's a very complex situation," Herbert said. "You ought to get comfortable with the fact that you're going to need a phase of education. ... You ought to work hard to produce the very best modified ward plan you can, because it might pass."
Roanoke elects its council at large, meaning all voters get to vote in all seven races for four-year council seats. Elections are staggered to occur every two years.
The at-large system has spawned regular complaints for 20 years that council members, because they represent everybody, pay attention to nobody in particular. That's left some communities feeling ignored.
In 1992, a task force spent months on research and held multiple public hearings before recommending retaining the at-large system. Since then, dozens of residents have appeared before council to demand a voter referendum on the question.
"It's a matter of people feeling that they have somebody who represents them," said Billy Bova, a representative of the Grandin Court Civic League. He favors a referendum, although he personally opposes a ward system.
The chief question is how district lines would be drawn. Related issues include how many election districts the city should have; how many council members should be elected at large; how the mayor and vice mayor should be selected; and how to avoid diluting the voting strength of blacks, who make up about 25 percent of Roanoke's population.
Before it could take effect, the referendum would need approval from City Council and the General Assembly. Afterward, if it passes, the plan would have to be cleared by the U.S. Justice Department.
Although such an election system would be relatively new to Roanoke, it's not unusual elsewhere. The U.S. House is elected by district, as is every state legislature.
Most major cities also elect their councils by a ward or modified ward system, and the five-member Roanoke County Board of Supervisors is elected by district, the same thing as a ward.
William Bestpitch, who represents Old Southwest on the committee, said Roanoke ought to adopt some kind of modified ward system.
"The thing that concerns me is when something is not right in the neighborhood, you have no one to go to on City Council," he said.
But other members last night urged caution.
"There are enormous issues at stake here," said Mike Urbanski, president of the Raleigh Court Civic League and a member of the citizens task force that recommended against a modified ward system in 1992. "One man, one vote; economic development; whether this will build communities or make us more divisive. I don't think anyone wants to do anything that's going to hurt the city of Roanoke."
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