One man, one vote?

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One man, one vote?
(Graphic/Jessica Kim)
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To the editor:

The June 20 “City Hall Watch” column noted the propensity of City Council to appoint the same residents to multiple boards and commissions considering the same proposed policies, and how that practice narrows diversity on important local matters. The June 27 letters to the editor criticize the column as a personal attack.

The June 27 letters miss the point of the “City Hall Watch” column: Why should any one resident have votes on up to four boards and commissions making recommendations to Council on the same policy? One member was appointed to the Transportation Commission, the Traffic & Parking Board, the Alexandria Mobility Plan Advisory Committee and the Duke Street in Motion Advisory Committee, effectively giving one person four votes on the Duke Street proposal.

Another member cited is on the Planning Commission and an appointee to the Transportation Commission and the DSIM Advisory Committee, effectively giving one person three votes on the proposal.

The third member cited chairs the Planning Commission, and has been on the Transportation and Waterfront Commissions, giving one person three platforms, including votes, to influence the same policies. He is an outspoken critic of public input from residents raising facts and issues that do not support his opinions on density.

To be sure, each of those members meet qualification requirements to be on those boards and commissions. But so do many other members of the public who apply; however, the city does not appear to be interested in perspectives other than the same ones it wants to hear. The current Traffic & Parking Board, for example, has up to five members of the small bicyclist community out of seven members. That is not even close to a proportionate representation of the community.

The monopoly of appointments is a noteworthy practice and the point of the “City Hall Watch” column. The city values conformity, not diversity. We all benefit from diversity on boards and commissions.

-Frank Putzu, Alexandria

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