THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 19, 1995 TAG: 9503170270
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Medium: 52 lines
``How to replace elected officials who break the law and/or otherwise demonstrate their unfitness for their office'': This is not a chapter of its electoral history Virginia Beach would have chosen to write. But Charles W. Vincent, elected to the School Board last May and convicted last month of violating state ethics provisions, has stuck the city with that task. The faster it's finished, the better. The pace so far is snail's. Must it be?
Mr. Vincent was ordered off the board in February by a Circuit Court judge who concurred in the jury's findings of guilt. The school administration has instructed that Mr. Vincent is no longer entitled to the perquisites of board members. The School Board itself, breaking months of unbecoming silence on Mr. Vincent's conduct, just asked the judges to appoint his successor quickly.
Mr. Vincent has now asked that the judges delay the appointment while he petitions a higher court to remain on the board until his appeals are exhausted. That's his right. It would be helpful if that court expedited his petition - and even more helpful if the court upheld common sense by denying his petition. Mr. Vincent's appeals could stretch until the next scheduled election. And meantime?
Well, because the board has already exercised its power to strip him of committee assignments, Mr. Vincent could not carry a member's full weight. Any vote he cast, particularly on discipline policy, would taint the outcome with the public if not with the law. As for leaving the seat empty pending his appeals, Mr. Vincent would lose both his voice and his vote on the board; in short, the two reasons to have the seat. And the board would lose its 11th member, crucial on close, controversial votes.
Right now, with Mr. Vincent having been ordered off and former Chairman Darden having resigned in January (for family reasons), the board is two members short. Local judges could fill Mr. Darden's seat tomorrow if they chose. Yet they have set no date for closing applications, much less naming his successor. Maybe legislators should reconsider whether judges' laps are the best place to drop these appointments.
As insurance, those voters seeking Mr. Vincent's removal by petitioning the Circuit Court should keep collecting signatures. The petition gets dropped in the same judges' laps; but the law requires them to then act fast, and on a standard of proof of unsuitability for the office Mr. Vincent has more than met.
KEYWORDS: VIRGINIA BEACH SCHOOL BOARD
by CNB