THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 19, 1997 TAG: 9701190012
SECTION: COMMENTARY PAGE: J4 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: 45 lines
A lot has changed since Virginia was a poor, rural, Southern state run by a conservative Democratic Party machine whose philosophy of government was ``keep it small and keep it all.''
Virginia is now the nation's 12th most populous state, whose rural areas are losing people while the Washington/Richmond/Hampton Roads corridor burgeons. We are, at least potentially, the Silicon Dominion of Gov. George F. Allen's press releases. We boast a busy international port and play host to important elements of the world's most potent military-industrial complex.
Yet the governmental underpinnings of Virginia haven't kept pace. Anachronistic structures keep executive leadership weak. Information about government is often too hard for citizens to obtain, making oversight difficult. Private money, seeking to influence public policy, easily escapes public scrutiny.
The quality of education available to the children of Virginia varies widely, depending on where in the state they live. Cities suffer while suburbs prosper. Internecine warfare rather than regionalism rules. Long-range planning is overwhelmed by short-term political considerations.
Beginning today, a series of Pilot editorials will propose a modest reform agenda - structural changes that would bring Virginia government more closely into alignment with Virginia realities.
Today: The one-term governorship has outlived its time.
In the days ahead:
The Freedom of Information Act needs updating.
Virginia's independent-cities structure leads to the decay of urban areas and impedes regional progress. Changes are needed to make it easier for cities to annex or revert to towns and for regions to create autonomous authorities and funding mechanisms.
The state has largely ignored the capital needs of school districts. That should change.
Government ethics reform (including campaign financing) is overdue.
A family court apparatus should be created.
Some of these proposals may never take place because of entrenched interests and resistance to change. But we are persuaded that they would make the Commonwealth of Virginia a better place to live and to work. They would allow government to address more effectively the challenges facing the state and enhance its ability to compete in an increasingly competitive world.