THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 17, 1996 TAG: 9603160159
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Kevin Armstrong
LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines
You won't find anything about the May 7 elections in today's Beacon beyond the editorial pages.
For some of you, enjoy it. But don't get used to it.
For those of you trying to perform your civic role of being informed and getting involved, don't fret. This will be the last Sunday in several weeks that you won't be fed more information about the choices you'll find on the ballot.
We're not taking a vacation from the election or the task of getting 60 candidates photographed, like we did last Sunday. We're hard at work.
Our challenge: ``To inform our readers about the choices they will have in the May 7 election and to help them understand for whom they're voting and why. We must eliminate the guess work for them.''
I won't be telling you how to vote. Nor will our reporters. The editorial writers for The Virginian-Pilot will make endorsements, but neither I nor our reporters will be involved in those decisions.
We want you to have the necessary information so you can decide that for yourself. That will be our focus throughout the campaign.
But before we can do that, we need to know what type of information will best help you make informed choices.
Let's face it. This is a crowded field. What makes one candidate more qualified than the other will require exploration.
We don't want the campaign rhetoric and paid advertisements to be your primary guides. So, help us set the agenda for this election. We want the citizens of this city to be heard first, then we'll put your concerns to the candidates.
Last week, we invited a few residents into the office to hear what's important to them. On Wednesday, we'll hear from a few more. They're taking the time to sit down with us for two hours and express their thoughts.
Unfortunately, we can't do that with too many people given the time constraints. But we're offering you other avenues of expression.
You always are welcome to write us and share your insights. And we've set up a special Infoline number where you can call and leave a recorded message (640-5555, category 6297).
We may not take your exact words and put them before 60 candidates individually, but we'll take the collective input of many readers and develop what we're calling a ``citizen agenda.'' The newspaper did this last fall for the General Assembly election, and it proved to be a valuable tool for voters.
We're not looking so much for the litmus tests, although some might be helpful in defining where candidates stand on the larger issues.
For example, asking candidates for a specific percentage pay increase for teachers might be interesting, but their answers would be more valuable in what they say about spending priorities. Are we spending too much money catching up on construction needs instead of using that money to improve lagging salaries? Those are important trade-offs that elected officials must make.
So, what's on your mind?
We'll spend the next two weeks developing that agenda with readers, then the whole month of April putting those concerns to the candidates.
We invite you to participate in the process now, so that your participation May 7 will be more meaningful.
KEYWORDS: ELECTION VIRGINIA BEACH CITY COUNCIL RACE CANDIDATE
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