(THIS ISSUE IS ON THE TOWN COUNCIL AGENDA FOR 9/2/08)Keeping Christianburg elections in May is a wonderful idea if you want to be sure that few citizens participate. Let's face it. Local elections do not get the same media hype as State and National elections. I gave up tying to keep count of the number of people I have spoken to who wanted to vote but simply forgot about it. Many people have moved here from other areas and have never lived anywhere that all elections were not held at the same time.
Separating Local elections from the rest is a great way to insure that 'special interest' groups control Local government. It is a major obstacle in getting as many people involved in the process as possible. It takes a great deal of courage to open up the process as much as possible if you are concerned that you might not get elected if that happens. It puts a greater responsibility on candidates to reach out and involve people. It puts a greater responsibility on concerned citizens to become active and 'get the word' out about their government. Wow....what novel concepts:)
Government, overall (whether at Local, State, or National level) has to be seen as a system. The decisions made about who/what to vote for at one level, has a direct effect on all other levels. Local government is also the best opportunity we have to get the young people involved and gaining experience to run for offices at the State and then National levels.
Your Local government must operate within the constraints of State and National controls. However, since these individuals are representative of the community, they are expected to find ways to work within those constraints that are in the best interest of local citizens. Who you vote for on the local level should be evaluated on the basis of who you are voting for in the other levels. Without the ability to form some level of cohesion between the goals and ideals of elected officials at all levels, Local government can quickly loose its efficacy.
I finally had some time to look at the results of one of the
citizen surveys that I have posted on the website. This particular survey asked citizens if they thought Local elections should be held in November. Although you can find the full results of the survey on the website link above, here is a quick summary.
A total of 34 people responded to the survey (remember these surveys are not advertised).
94.1% or 32 of those people were residents of the Town of Christiansburg
100% or 34 of those people are 18 years of age or old
100% or 34 of those people are registered voters
91.2% or 31 of those people voted in the last Town election
73.5% or 25 think Town elections should be held in November
20.6% or 7 think Town elections should not be held in November
5.9% or 2 are unsure if the electiosn should be held in November
Although not definitive due to the low 'n', the data shows some patterns that should cause elected officials to take a closer look at what citizens might want changed about the current process. Studies this small are not useful in making any real determination. Rather, they should be considered as sources of information to determine what larger issues should be studied. Rather than having one voice say what it is that is wanted, you have a chorus of voices expressing what they want. The results found here may or may not represent what the overall population wants. But, given the number of people who went to the website, saw the survey, and decided to take it, my 'voter turnout' for the survey is higher than what the last Town elections had. You've already heard some of my reasons for why elections should be in November (saving taxpayer money, greater convenience to citizens, higher level of participation in local government). To see the comments provided by respondents to the survey, go to the webpage and take a look.
Just for your information: I am in the process of designing a much larger survey that will actually be presented as a series of smaller surveys. It is designed after a Comprehensive Plan Survey and will include all of the information that should be obtained from citizens when a Comprehensive Plan Citizen Input process is actually used. I am breaking it into smaller pieces because otherwise it could take from 30 minutes to an hour to complete the full survey. I am breaking it into the smaller pieces based on specific topics that should be addressed. You will also notice that it is designed to elicit information from other jurisdictions. This setup will allow me to pull up that information from citizens of each jurisdiction independently and provide that information as a means of helping to identify those issues that are truly regional in nature and those which are specific to certain jurisdictions. I hope that when that is available, it will help to identify those areas where jurisdictions working together can find greater funding sources for projects than could be found by only one jurisdiction.
Christiansburg, Blacksburg, Giles, Floyd, Radford, etc. do not exist in vacuums. What happens in one jurisdiction will have some affect on other jurisdictions. If we are willing to work together on those things that affect everyone, perhaps we can come up with solutions where EVERYONE wins. Sometimes, the best way to make things happen is to look at the whole picture, not just one portion.