George,

In his fine article in today's Daily Progress, Bob Gibson notes that "Many Democrats believe that a ward system for an elected School Board would force a ward system for City Council elections. . . "

I am writing to say that Democrats have no reason to believe that an elected school board will force a change in the way city council elections are organized. The only way that Charlottesville can switch to a ward system for city council elections is if the General Assembly passes legislation authorizing such a switch. Presumably, the Assembly would not do so unless City Council persuaded the delegate from Charlottesville (e.g., David Toscano, assuming he wins the general election in November) to introduce such legislation. I think it is highly unlikely that such events will transpire anytime soon. City Council has shown no interest in ward elections, and I don't believe David supports ward elections either.

As David RePass argued recently on loper.org, there is good reason to have citywide City Council elections and ward-based School Board elections. For instance, elementary schools are situated in particular neighborhoods, so it makes sense for each region of the city to have its own school board member. (Incidentally, school boards elected by ward are more racially diverse than those elected on a citywide basis -- all the more reason to have a school board elected by ward.) By contrast, most of the issues facing City Council are citywide, so it makes for those seats to be elected on a citywide basis. In short, two different electoral systems can, and probably should, coexist in Charlottesville.

There are good arguments for and against an elected school board, but we need to watch out for red herrings such as this misplaced concern about the impact of an elected school board on city council elections.

Jeffrey Rossman (electronic mail, June 16, 2005)