THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 6, 1994 TAG: 9411050175
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Medium: 54 lines
The voters are mad.
Dissatisfaction with government at all levels and a profound frustration that the concerns of citizens are not being heard - not in Washington, not in Richmond, not in the great, white tower on Cedar Road - have electors in a seething frenzy. They are in a mood to lash out.
Some Chesapeake voters view the $76.9 million road bond referendum as a opportune target for their wrath.
Their logic is this: City Council - the same City Council who lavished thousands of dollars on extravagant fax machines and a redundant cable television system, attempted to stifle free speech at council meetings, fumbles ineptly over important policy issues and squabbles in public like a pack of spoiled brats - wants the bonds approved in the worst way. To deny them what they want would be sweet vengeance, soothing to the spleen. It would remind them, in a dramatic way, that the people are still in charge.
But would it really?
No. The bond referendum is not a vote of confidence in city leadership. It's simply a method of financing roads, roads that the city needs. To turn down this opportunity in hopes of sending some sort of message to City Hall would be cutting off your nose to spite your face.
The 23 specific projects that would be financed by the bonds all carry significantly more traffic than they were designed to carry or have higher-than-average accident rates. They represent work that needs to be done.
There's no use waiting for the state or federal governments to fund these projects. That will not happen. It is those who live and work in Chesapeake who suffer the dangers and inconvenience of our overtaxed road system, and it is they who must provide for improvements, if improvements are ever to be made.
The cost of the road projects - which could run as high as $125 million after debt-service on the bonds is included - is daunting. But Chesapeake is not a poor city that must scrimp and scrape on basic public services. We can afford the things we need.
Voters have been assured that it won't be necessary to raise taxes to pay off the additional debt. While it's certainly true that there is good reason to be cynical about government's promises to hold the line on taxes, the city's strong potential for economic growth during the life of the bonds makes this assurance believable.
On Tuesday, the voters should concentrate on improving roads. There will be other, better opportunities to improve the quality of the city's leadership. by CNB