
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, March 5, 1991                   TAG: 9103050440
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER MUNICIPAL WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

WARD SYSTEM ENDORSED

The Roanoke Republican Committee has endorsed a modified ward system for electing City Council members, saying such a plan would bring government closer to voters and give more people a chance to run for office.

The committee said it supports a mixture of ward and at-large council members because that would help ensure that the interests of neighborhoods and the city as a whole are represented.

The Republicans say small wards would make council members more responsive to constituents and require them to do more door-to-door campaigning.

The GOP endorsement of a modified ward plan reflects growing support for a change in the city's at-large system. Several past and current leaders in the city Democratic Party support a ward or modified ward plan.

In a ward system, all council members would be chosen by districts. In a modified ward plan, some members would be chosen by districts and others would continue to be chosen at large.

At a recent public hearing, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the League of Women Voters and the Peoples Voters League urged council to adopt a modified ward system.

Council has asked city administrators and the city attorney for a report on the steps that would be required to switch to a ward or modified ward plan. It has also agreed to schedule four more hearings to get residents' views.

A ward study committee for the Republicans said the city's at-large system has "historically denied many citizens an opportunity to participate in governing themselves." In a report titled "A Republican Approach to the Ward System," the committee said large groups of voters are left unrepresented by the at-large system because council's only constituency is the entire city.

The report said "individuals within the city often have diverse interests, and one of the functions of governments is to help individuals articulate their self-interests. Ward representation simplifies this process for individuals and groups of citizens."

In a small-district ward system, voters would be more likely to know their council members, the Republicans said. Voters' choices "will not be limited to people whom they do not know, who do not live near them and do not share their problems and concerns," the report said.

Keywords:
POLITICS

by CNB