By Mark Eaton
August in Alexandria during an election year is about the midpoint of the “big timeout” in city politics. The big timeout extends from the June 18 primary election to the resumption of campaigning for the citywide elections on Nov. 5.
The practical advantages of the big timeout are difficult to understand. Lead time is necessary for ballot preparation and allows candidates and their supporters to recuperate, but several months seems excessive.
The candidates for the mayoralty and City Council in the Democratic primary were a particularly qualified and able group. To the winners, congratulations. To others, as former Sheriff Dana Lawhorne has said to candidates for public office: “Thank you for making the race.”
It is disappointing that candidates who did not win a nomination are effectively barred from running for the School Board. This is because June 18, the date of the primary election, was the last day to file to run for the School Board.
Would a candidate who did not receive a mayoral or Council party nomination ever run for the School Board? I wish the possibility existed. Some of this year’s losing primary candidates would make fine School Board members. As a former teacher and School Board member, my perspective is not objective. Of the major responsibilities of local government – public safety and land use regulation, public health and public education – the last is the most interesting, to me, because it holds the greatest possibilities for enhancing human potential.
This year there will be uncompetitive School Board elections in November: three candidates for three seats in each of the three voting districts. This may be a welcome development for the nine people who will secure their School Board seats by filing to run, but there are negative effects that may not be immediately apparent. For example, voters who habitually do not vote in School Board elections have another reason not to do so.
A competitive election – I was in three – requires candidates to meet people to learn what they think and understand their concerns. Natural introverts – I am one – must come out of their shells to meet potential voters. No incentive exists to do this if the office sought is guaranteed to the seeker.
A wise colleague described School Board service to me as being engaged in a battle of ideas. There was a large measure of truth to this. Being effective on the Board required familiarity with a range of problems and ideas, evaluating them and advocating for the most effective solutions. A contested election campaign, run the right way, is an extended training exercise for a battle of ideas. If election success is certain, it seems unlikely that a candidate’s level of effort will match what is required to win a contested seat.
None of this is to disparage the nine people who signed up to run for the Board and who, barring unforeseen events, will become School Board members on Jan. 1, 2025. I hope they go down in history as Alexandria’s best School Board ever.
An election with as many candidates as seats is an exercise in going through the motions. A friend, a long-time Alexandrian, speaks wistfully about the pre-1994 era when City Council appointed the members of the School Board.
This year’s citywide “sign up and serve” School Board election is something that Alexandria has not seen before, but it does not signal that a return to an appointed School Board is necessary.
So, let’s enjoy the big timeout and wish the new School Board good luck and success. And, no disrespect intended, let’s hope they have competition the next time around.
The writer is a former lawyer, member of the Alexandria School Board from 1997 to 2006, and English teacher from 2007 to 2021 at T.C. Williams High School, now Alexandria City High School. He can be reached at aboutalexandria@gmail.com and subscriptions to his newsletter are available free at aboutalexandria.substack.com.