Sunday, November 02, 2008
Editorial: Hold a referendum on council elections
Christiansburg will circulate a petition at polling places.
From the RoundTable blog
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Christiansburg residents on Tuesday will have a chance to participate in democracy before they even step inside their polling places. Some of their fellow citizens plan to circulate a petition outside polling places to force a referendum on November town council elections.
Little more than 10 percent of registered voters usually show up at May elections. That narrow slice of the population chooses the leadership for everyone. Meanwhile, a typical November election has three, four, even five times that many voters.
The petition citizens are circulating would place a ballot measure before voters giving them the choice of whether council elections should remain in May or move to November of odd years. They chose odd years to sync with other local elections and avoid being drowned out by national politics.
In theory, November elections would have greater turnout so the council would reflect the views of a broader cross-section of the community.
November elections would also save the town money. Christiansburg must pay for spring elections, but in November the council race would join an existing ballot.
Even if you are not 100 percent sold on the idea, you should consider signing the petition. The petition itself changes nothing. It would only give voters a choice.
Former Councilman Steve Huppert (see his letter in today's section) and new councilman Henry Showalter have promoted the idea at town hall, but most of the council remains tepid. They are content with only a few people choosing the council; after all, those people chose them.
The public can have the last word, though. Backers of the proposal need at least 1,300 valid signatures. They aim to gather more than that, though, to cover any invalid signatures.
If you live in Christiansburg and long for greater civic participation, if you would like a break from elections in the spring, if you just think those ideas are worth a broader discussion, sign the petition on Tuesday. Jumpstart the conversation.
