Friday, February 29, 2008
Editorial: An unfortunate way to fill a council seat
Roanoke voters can't pick a replacement for a resigned councilman's post. But they should be invited to participate.
From the RoundTable blog
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Alfred Dowe resigned his Roanoke City Council post with more than two years remaining on his four-year term. Roanoke plans to hold an election on May 6 to select a mayor and three council members.
Logically, it would follow that voters could pick Dowe's replacement then.
But logic doesn't rule. State law -- flawed as it is -- controls the timing.
Circuit Court Judge Charles Dorsey found that regardless of what the city's charter says, the mayor and council -- not the people -- will fill this council vacancy. It's all a matter of timing.
Had Dowe resigned more than 120 days prior to May 6, the names of those seeking to replace him could have appeared on the ballot. Had Roanoke usually filled municipal posts in November rather than May, then it could possibly have held a special election then. Since neither pertains, the judge found state law requires the post to be filled in the next scheduled general election for council members. Regrettably, that isn't until May 2010.
The judge's ruling could be appealed, of course, but not in time for the May 6 election (as candidates must get on the ballot by Tuesday) and probably not in time to make any real difference.
State law can be amended. And it should be. Even though the governor could introduce a bill to create other provisions for special elections, and lawmakers could quickly confer, again the timing is too tight to make a difference. Besides, rushing a legislative fix without exploring all the repercussions could make a bad law worse.
Instead, Roanoke's legislative delegation should place this on next year's agenda and see to it that it is accomplished then.
In the meantime, there remains the matter of selecting a new council member to fill this important position.
Mayor Nelson Harris said council will pursue a "deliberative and public process to both solicit applications and make the appointment."
There isn't much time -- council has less than a month. But the process can still be thorough and transparent.
Roanoke already has a good template to use: the process of screening school board candidates. The city should invite interested citizens to fill out detailed applications that list their background, civic involvement and skills they would bring to public service. Post this information online.
Council should host at least one public forum to question candidates and avoid the temptation to hold private interviews, as was once tried with school board candidates.
This vacancy was created because of improprieties, making it all the more important that the appointment is not tainted by controversy.
