THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, July 31, 1995 TAG: 9507280013
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A6 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 37 lines
What arrogance!
I am part of a group of citizens who have started a petition drive to determine whether the citizens of Norfolk would or would not want an elected School Board. An article about the petition drive appeared in your paper on July 17. Two days later, the lead editorial was titled ``No elected School Board.'' Further, ``If they can muster the needed 8,700 petition signatures, they are legally entitled to a vote on the issue. But it's a bad idea.''
So the bad idea is that citizens would have a vote? Voting sounds like democracy to me. I am for an elected School Board, but if we don't get enough signatures to have a referendum - well, we tried. If we do get enough signatures and the voters decide No to an elected School Board - fine. If the voters decide Yes to an elected School Board, fine also.
The newspaper's position seems to not make sense with respect to what it says its mission is. We've been reading so much about your effort to push ``grass-roots'' involvement, citizen participation and the power of public discussion. Sure enough, four days after the editorial the paper was back to espousing this credo in editor Cole Campbell's column, ``This reader's letter hits home in stating why we're working to better connect with citizens.'' Mr. Campbell talks about public discussion: ``. . . to bring citizens more directly into political processes by listening more carefully to you,'' etc.
Sorry, but with this sad silliness, your newspaper continues to lose its relevance as it flip-flops in its stated goals.
ERNIE and JUDIE EDWARDS
Norfolk, July 23, 1995 by CNB