To the editor:
Kevin Dunne’s articulate argument in his July 18 letter to the editor, “In response to Council pay raise,” not to increase compensation for city councilors had the right justifications, but the wrong solution. There are four time-tested, readily available steps to ensure that we don’t create a class of elected officials wedded to self-serving solutions.
The first step is to establish term limits. Nearly every entity in which members are elected to serve has limits to their terms of office, some age-related or some are years in office. All create fresh perspectives, renewed energy and vigor.
Second, City Council could craft a standard of ethics unique to it. For example, to avoid the appearance of a bribe, Council could agree not to take money from any person who seeks approval for some project or another. Since most Alexandria taxpayers are now employed by or once worked for the federal government, the ethical standards that define the parameters of federal service to the public could be easily adopted word for word by the Alexandria City Council.
The third simple step to ensure genuine representation is to establish wards within which neighbors can elect a neighbor to represent their community interests on City Council. Currently, every councilor represents every citizen. None of them know much about other neighborhoods beyond the one in which they live. Wards would enfranchise its residents and would allow its elected officials to serve fewer constituents more effectively. Moreover, wards are not new to Alexandria. In fact, the School Board is elected in wards, and it oversees half the city’s budget.
Finally, with ward voting, political party affiliations can be eliminated. Doing so will, at a minimum, suppress the disposition to vote for the party rather than the person.
Among the benefits these four steps will yield is one unique to the Democratic Party. They will make its primary what it should be: a forum for its political activists to identify their preferences. Currently, this primary is the de-facto City Council election. The last one empowered roughly 10% of registered voters who participated in it at the expense of the 90% who didn’t. I’m sure you’ll agree, this is not democracy in action much less the way to craft Alexandria’s future.
-Jimm Roberts, Alexandria