THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, September 2, 1995 TAG: 9509020402
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANCIE LATOUR AND ELIZABETH THIEL, STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Long : 116 lines
Though the federal government has lifted its objections to an at-large elected School Board in Chesapeake, no one knows when, how and by what rules citizens will get to pick their first board members.
The answers could influence which of the nine current members choose to defend their appointed seats and who might challenge their incumbencies.
``I don't know how they are going to arrange people to stand for election,'' said School Board member James M. Reeves.
Reeves said there were too many uncertainties for him to announce his candidacy.
``I don't know when they're going to do it. There is talk about (an election) in February. That doesn't sounds like very much time.''
City officials are scrambling to resolve confusion over whether to hold a special election as soon as February, how many of the nine seats will be up for vote, and who on the current board will have to give up their appointments first.
City Attorney Ronald S. Hallman said a special state law passed by the General Assembly last year might require the city to set a special election before May, when the regular City Council elections will be held.
The Justice Department's decision came too late to put the election on the ballot in November.
But Audrey S. Piatt, deputy secretary of the state Board of Elections, said state law only gives the option for the election to be held early; it does not require it. The ultimate decision rests with Hallman and City Council members, she said.
Piatt said if council members decide to have an early special election, Hallman will have to draft an order specifying the date, which the Circuit Court must approve. The state Board of Elections then would confirm deadlines for candidates to file and make candidate information packets available to the public.
Then the council would have to decide whether to hold its second set of board elections in May, or wait until May of 1998.
At least two major problems already are surfacing as School Board members face the prospect of an early special election.
Candidates and voters would be recovering from the winter holidays, leaving little time to absorb the various candidates' platforms and their competing visions for the city.
And an early ballot followed immediately by another May vote would mean that, theoretically, all nine members of the School Board could be novices by the end of the school year.
Normally the board has only one or two newcomers at any given time, allowing less experienced members to learn from the seasoned ones.
``I'm concerned that if we replace all nine board members in three or four months, what that would do to the board,'' said L. Thomas Bray, a board member who plans to defend his seat when it comes up for grabs. ``I think a May election would be more feasible to maintain.''
An early election could also raise serious economic barriers for citizens who may want to run but lack the time and resources to build the political and financial clout necessary for campaigning.
Reeves said whether the election is held in February or May could make all the difference in whether or not he decides to run. And he doesn't think he's alone.
``It takes money to run,'' Reeves said, ``and that money has to be raised, unless someone is privately rich. And I'm not. It would be a great economic hardship on all of us if we have to run as early as they're talking about.''
Some members were left wondering how the election seats would be staggered, and if they would have to run at all.
``If my term expires in December, will I be reappointed temporarily until a February election?'' asked School Board member Lynn K. Pierce. ``I have no idea where I fit into this picture or what the terms are.''
City officials, School Board members and civic leaders were caught off-guard by the federal decision, which lifted barriers on a request for an elected board that had been stalled in city, state and federal channels for almost three years.
After charging Chesapeake in June 1994 with having had a history of racially polarized voting, the U.S. Department of Justice this week reversed itself and dropped all opposition to the city's at-large voting system.
Justice Department officials had refused to grant Chesapeake its request to elect a school board until it designed a voting system that would maximize black voting power. Virginia is one of eight states that, because of past voting rights abuses, must get federal approval for any changes in election practices.
The federal agency's accusations had split the city's political leaders along partisan and racial lines. While some citizens said they were unsure how to balance racial fairness with the advantages of voting at-large, most were more concerned with the act of electing a board than with the method. MEMO: Related story about election issues is on page B3.
WHAT IT TAKES TO RUN FOR SCHOOL BOARD
Candidates must:
Be U.S. citizens, at least 18 years old, registered voters in the
precincts where they live and free from disqualifying factors such as
felony convictions or court-determined mental incompetency.
Call the state Board of Elections in Richmond, 1-800-552-9745, and
ask for a candidate packet for elected school boards in Chesapeake.
Packets will be available in December if the election is held in May. If
the vote is sooner, the state agency will make packets available as
needed. The packets contain all of the information candidates need,
including forms that must be filled out and returned to the city's
voter registrar.
Collect signatures from 125 registered voters on a petition. The
petition is one of the forms contained in the candidate packet.
File the petition and declare candidacy in the city voter registrar's
office by the deadline. If the election is held next May, the deadline
would be March 5. If the election is a special ballot held earlier, the
deadline would be 30 days prior to the vote.
Sources: Virginia W. Garrett, Chesapeake Voter Registrar, and Audrey
S. Piatt, deputy secretary of the state Board of Elections.
KEYWORDS: CHESAPEAKE SCHOOL BOARD ELECTED SCHOOL BOARD SPECIAL
ELECTION by CNB