By Tonia Moxley
The Roanoke Times
Jan. 9, 2008
Summary: The town is the 17th locality in the state to switch elections from May to November.
BLACKSBURG — Beginning next year, Blacksburg residents will choose their town council members in November instead of May.
Supporters say the change, passed on a 6-0 vote by the council at its Tuesday meeting, will save taxpayers money and confusion. It may also dilute the growing political influence of advocacy groups.
Councilman Don Langrehr was absent and cast no vote on the issue.
With Tuesday’s vote, Blacksburg became the 17th Virginia locality to switch its election date from May to November since the General Assembly passed a 2002 bill granting municipalities the right to choose. However, 212 of the state’s towns and cities still hold their elections in May.
After the vote, Mayor Ron Rordam thanked council members and residents for their participation and, ultimately, their support.
“It was a good process” that “brought a lot of ideas into it,” Rordam said.
He characterized the change as a positive step for the town’s future.
Rordam’s original proposal was to switch from May of even-numbered years to November of even-numbered years. The mayor said the goal was to increase voter turnout and empower more residents to have a say in their government. Over the past two decades, turnout at town elections varied from a low of 3 percent to a high of 22 percent.
Despite an endorsement of the idea by the Montgomery County League of Women Voters, Rordam’s proposal ignited electoral passions and culminated in several debate sessions and a petition drive to put the issue on the 2008 ballot.
Many politically active residents objected to the initial proposal because it would have paired local elections with national races and, they argued, could inject partisan politics into the town government. Under the town charter, council members run without party labels or party support.
A group of opponents collected about 1,000 signatures in a effort to put the issue on the ballot in May. The initiative was dropped when Rordam and residents opposed to his proposal settled on a compromise: The town could switch to November elections in odd-numbered years, when county government officials are elected. State elections also are held in odd-numbered years.
Under the ordinance passed Tuesday, the terms of sitting council members will be shortened by six months. The change will cost taxpayers $5,850 in one-time administrative fees, mainly to reissue voter registration cards. It is expected to save $3,800 per election in other costs and reduce confusion for voters whose polling locations now change depending on the election year.
If the experience of other localities that have switched to November elections is any guide, the date change could dilute the growing political influence of grass-roots advocacy groups such as Citizens First and Blacksburg United for Responsible Growth.
In e-mails to Rordam, officials from both Bridgewater and Manassas Park wrote that moving their elections to November prevented “small splinter groups” and other minority groups from unduly influencing elections and prevented the election of “fringe candidates.”
Copyright The Roanoke Times 2008
Tags: Blacksburg, election, Politics, town council