THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, December 30, 1994 TAG: 9412280231
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Short : 45 lines
Citizens who hoped that the present majority on the City Council meant what it said when it promised to bring more open, deliberative government to Chesapeake have suffered another disappointment.
After agreeing to postpone appointments to two vacancies on the city School Board until personal interviews could be conducted with the candidates, the council went back on its word last week and chose its appointments in the same way they have always been chosen: by political fiat.
Six Republican council members, through a process that was all but invisible to the rest of us, picked the names of Larry Brayboy and Mary Ann Korving from a list of 86 citizens who had asked to be considered for the job.
Why these two? We have no way of knowing.
Were their qualifications superior to the other candidates? Do they bring some particular expertise to the job? Do they possess some enlightened vision for the betterment of public education in Chesapeake?
The selection process, once again, did not permit that kind of information to be known outside the private, informal deliberations of the council majority.
We do know that the appointees had the confidence of the six loyal Republicans on council. That, in the end, was all they really needed.
Council members who once righteously complained that School Board appointments were under the control of political power brokers reverted to exactly the same tactics.
It is a blessing that this may be the last time citizens will have to rely on empty promises from council members for a more thoughtful selection of School Board members. By the time the next round of appointments is due, the voters should be making the choices themselves.
Then, at last, candidates for the School Board will have to be prepared to say what they can offer besides their choice of friends. by CNB