OP-ED: Virginia Beach’s New 10-1 Election System Promotes Fairness, Trust & Accountability

Dear Fellow Citizens,

At a recent Virginia Beach City Council meeting, the Mayor and City Council finally did the right thing and endorsed the 10-1 election system to be part of the city charter, but this did not happen without an effort by Mayor Dyer and the previous majority to keep the status quo.  Millions of dollars were spent in fighting the change in federal court and a costly public engagement campaign ensued where citizens definitively said they support the district only system.

The 10-1 election system ushers in a new era of fairness and trust and is based on council members being directly elected from voters in their district and the mayor being voted citywide. The decades-old at-large multi-vote system favored incumbents and disenfranchised many voters as noted in the federal lawsuits by Virginia Beach citizens. In past elections, some incumbents lost their home district, but were able to win because voters outside of the district voted for them. In addition, campaign finance reports highlighted that most campaign money comes from special interests, construction developers, and hospitality businesses in the city.  One glaring example of how the well-connected work is in District 10, where the special interest candidate raised three-times the money of the grassroots winner raised in District 10.

The new district system proved that voters know what’s best and common citizens have the power to directly elect their representatives.  However, there is an effort to back a referendum to go back to the old system.  Those that supported the old at-large election system led by former Virginia Beach Treasurer John Atkinson who has taken an ad in support of this effort and helped to lead the effort to kill the city’s previous attempt at establishing rail options, claim that the new system limits voters to one vote for or against.  However, this is the case in most cities and in state district elections. Further, the one person-one vote doctrine is the main basis of the Voting Rights Act.

The 10-1 electoral system promotes fairness and trust, by allowing you the power to directly elect your representative.  Any referendum effort would be advisory only and change would have to clear federal oversight as well as Virginia General Assembly action. Elections are the ultimate referendum and in 2022, the voters spoke loud and clear.  Any effort to resort back to the old system regresses Virginia Beach into being the sleepy county town that it emerged from. It also erases the gains of the most diverse city council ever elected and impedes progress.  Our school board also reflects new voices and opinions that further proved the new system works.

Virginia Beach is more than just the Oceanfront; it’s made of highly diverse communities all who contribute to the success of our city.  The new district system brings accountability to both our elected bodies in City Council and School Board.  The new district system highlights district needs rather than the special interest agenda of the well financed power brokers who have benefited from the at-large system for decades.

So here is the question:  Don’t you think our elected officials should work for all of us citizens and not for themselves and well financed special interests? While the detractors have their opinions, every citizen shares the common ground that we need to protect Virginia Beach for now and the future. The 10-1 Election Voting System promotes fairness, trust, and accountability.

Sincerely,
Reverend Gary McCollum
Chairman, Due the Right Things