THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, November 4, 1994 TAG: 9411030189
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Short : 36 lines
The fellow who observed that ``the more things change, the more they stay the same'' might have been talking about local government in Chesapeake.
A little more than a year after back-room deals, secrecy and disregard for public trust resulted in the dismissal of the city's Redevelopment and Housing Authority board, the replacement board is up to some of the same old tricks.
On Sept. 27, the board voted 5-4 by secret ballot to renew the contract of its attorney, John E. Zydron. The action was a violation of state law, which specifically requires such decisions to be made in public.
We don't know why the board members were so uncomfortable with the choice of Mr. Zydron as attorney that they lacked the courage to take personal responsibility for it. No doubt, they have their reasons.
The board's error in judgment is a great disappointment. It demonstrates that its members did not learn enough from the mistakes of their predecessors.
Some City Councilmen are already calling for the board to be dissolved and its responsibilities placed under the authority of the council.
This might be a good idea if the council's own record for openness in government were better. But the very councilmen who are leading the effort to dissolve the Housing Board are the same men who spread a pall of secrecy over the appointment of the new housing board a year ago. It might be said that the housing board was following the council's own bad example. by CNB