THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 19, 1995 TAG: 9511180535
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Medium: 53 lines
When you think of the Chesapeake City Council, words like ``magnanimity,'' ``statesmanship'' and ``fair play'' do not generally come to mind.
But if the generosity of spirit that existed among the council members Tuesday afternoon can be encouraged, that could change.
An unexpected legal hitch nearly prevented newly elected Councilman Dwight M. Parker from assuming his seat on council as scheduled. State election officials notified the city attorney at the last minute that Mr. Parker would not be eligible to take the oath of office until after Nov. 30, when his final campaign finance report is filed.
As things stand, Mr. Parker has only 24 weeks to serve before standing for re-election anyway. He was elected to fill out what's left of the term of another councilman who resigned. Three weeks of sitting on the sidelines would have amounted to a big chunk of his total tenure in office.
The Republican majority on council might have taken delight in the predicament. They might have seized the opportunity to maintain control of that vote for a while longer. A one-vote margin often makes a big difference when council splits over some divisive issue.
Who can honestly say that such an outcome would have been out of character for these men, who have committed insults of equal magnitude against each other in the name of partisanship?
But, in this case, they took the high road.
Councilman Dalton S. Edge, who lost the election, submitted a letter of resignation, opening the way for Mr. Parker to take his seat as an appointed member until such time as he can be certified as an elected one.
It was exactly the right thing to do, and Mr. Edge and Vice Mayor Robert T. Nance Jr., who paved the way for the orderly succession, are to be congratulated.
Republicans and Democrats on the Council showed that they are capable, after all, of overcoming pettiness, ambition and cut-throat politics to behave as gentlemen and instruments of the people's will.
Bickering on the council, divisiveness in the General Assembly and the childish posturing in Washington that has brought the federal government to a virtual standstill are wearing the patience of citizens thin and undermining respect for government at all levels.
It would be wonderful, would it not, if the healthy spirit of mutual-respect and compromise that the council exhibited last week could be sustained? by CNB