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

DATE: THURSDAY, November 30, 1995                   TAG: 9511300046
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: DAN CASEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

CIVIC LEADERS KNOCK CLOSED DELIBERATIONS

ROANOKE CITY COUNCIL'S first discussion on filling a pending vacancy took place Monday in a back-room meeting that was closed to the public. Some residents would like to see the process opened.

When Councilman Beverly Fitzpatrick Jr. resigned in the fall of 1993 to head the New Century Council, Roanoke City Council closed its doors to the public and decided John Edwards would fill the vacancy - then ratified it in a unanimous public vote.

With Edwards about to move on to the state Senate, that process began again Monday in an executive session called by Mayor David Bowers. Council unanimously agreed to the private meeting, and members filed away into a rear conference room after their regular meeting.

But with a few exceptions, some Roanoke neighborhood leaders say the process of filling the seat should be opened up as much as possible

"I would think the more open it would be, the better it would be," said Charles Hancock, president of the Garden City Civic League. "When things are done in a back room, you kind of have a question about it."

"I think it should be all out in the open, so everybody knows what's going on," said Florine Thornhill, president of the Northwest Neighborhood Environmental Organization. "Closed doors, choosing someone, I don't think it's the right way to go."

The closed-door "executive session" Monday was legal under the state Freedom of Information Act.

While generally encouraging open meetings and never requiring closed sessions, the law contains a broad list of exemptions that permit private conferences by elected officials - including for discussions of resignations and appointments of public officers such as Edwards.

Council makes frequent use of those exemptions. On Monday, for example, it met in private about four issues, including Edwards' pending departure.

Bowers said he called the session to get a sense of where council members stand on selecting Edwards' replacement.

The upshot was that Republicans and Democrats are deadlocked 3-3 on whether the appointee should be a "caretaker" or a candidate who can run for election in May. Republicans prefer the former; Democrats, the latter.

Edwards' formal resignation should come late in December or early in January, before the General Assembly convenes Jan. 10. Within 30 days of his departure, council must choose a replacement.

The argument for closing meetings is that it prompts more frank discussions of potential candidates.

Councilman Jack Parrott said council members would feel more willing to voice objections to a candidate in private than they would in public, for fear of hurting that person's feelings or tarnishing his or her reputation.

But Old Southwest Inc. President Dick Willis and Wildwood Civic League President Roy Stroop said the downside to closed sessions is that the public doesn't get to see the ingredients that go into the decision-making. Nor does it get a chance to evaluate elected officials on how they arrive at decisions.

"I don't think that's a fair shake," Stroop said.

"The more we can see how things are done and the reasons they are done, the better for the public. We'd like to know why the person was selected ... " Willis said.

Tony Stavola, president of the Greater Raleigh Court Civic League, said he personally can live with executive sessions concerning council vacancies, because "it would be difficult to have frank and open discussions about an individual's strengths and weaknesses."

But Stavola would like council members to solicit potential candidates from neighborhood groups, giving residents more of a voice in the process.

Evelyn Pullen, president of the Grayson Avenue Beautification Council, and Gregory Jackson, president of Loudon-Melrose Neighborhood Organization, said they have little problem with this particular seat being filled in an executive session because the term is so short.

The appointment will expire June 30, and the remaining two years of Edwards' term will be filled by someone chosen by voters in council elections in May.

"It's really a matter for council," said Dale Allen, president of the Southeast Action Forum. "If you don't trust six or seven people to do their job, why vote for them, anyway?"

by CNB