THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 12, 1995 TAG: 9511110163
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KAREN WEINTRAUB, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines
The City Council is struggling to figure out how to word a ballot question for next May's election, and they want your help.
The General Assembly decided earlier this year that Virginia Beach voters should be given one more chance to voice their opinions about changing the way City Council members are elected.
All 11 council members are now elected by all the voters of the city, although seven members are considered borough representatives and must live in their districts. The General Assembly decided that the population of the seven boroughs should be evened out. Currently, the Blackwater borough has fewer than 1,000 residents and the Kempsville borough more than 150,000.
The state legislators also told the City Council to hold another referendum, asking voters if they want to move from the current at-large system, where all citizens can vote for all council members, to a ward system, where the seven district council members would be elected only by residents of their district.
Supporters say the ward system would require council members to be more accountable to the residents of their district and spread the work more evenly among council members. Opponents, including most members of council, say the ward system would encourage political leaders to worry about their own districts, to the exclusion of the interests of the rest of the city.
The council wants help from the public in choosing the question, because many voters said they were extremely confused by a similar question posed to them in May 1994. At a meeting last Tuesday, the council asked The Beacon to publish the suggested questions and ask for responses.
The first question was written by Maurice B. Jackson, a member of the Council of Civic Organizations, which has led the fight for reapportionment. The last question was written by Vice Mayor W.D. ``Will'' Sessoms Jr. Councilman John A. Baum suggested the second part of the sixth question. All the other questions were drafted by the City Attorney's office.
All questions must be answerable with either a ``yes'' or a ``no'' vote.
Council members want the question worded so that voters who favor the current system can vote ``yes.'' Ward system proponents want a ``yes'' vote to mean support for a change.
1. Should City Council request the General Assembly to amend the City Charter to provide for the election of councilpersons representing residence districts by the voters of their respective districts?
2. Should the method of electing those members of City Council who are elected from residence districts be amended from an at-large system where all of the voters of the city cast a ballot for each council member to a ward system where only those voters residing in a council member's district may cast a vote for that council member?
3. Should the City Council member elected from each residence district be elected by all qualified voters of the city (at-large) rather than only by the voters of that district (ward)?
4. Should those council members elected from residence districts (formerly boroughs) be elected by all of the qualified voters of the city at-large rather than being elected only by the qualified voters of a council member's district (a ward system)?
5. Should the city council member elected to represent a particular borough be elected by all qualified voters throughout the city rather than only by the qualified voters residing in that particular borough?
6. Should the city council member elected from each residence district be elected by all qualified voters of the city (at large) rather than only by the voters of that district (ward)?
If you wish to vote for all 11 council seats, vote YES! If you prefer to vote for only five of the 11 council seats, vote NO!
7. Should the City Council member elected to represent a particular borough be elected by all qualified voters throughout the city (an at-large system) rather than only by the qualified voters residing in that particular borough (a ward system)? by CNB