For the past 48 hours, I’ve been either on the phone, online or on the radio listening and talking about Virginia Beach’s move to put a referendum on the ballot to convert to a Ward system.
Not a bad conversation to have, except that almost none of the benefits claimed by the supporters is actually true.
Myth #1 – Ward races are less expensive than at-large
In today’s Virginian-Pilot, Roger Chesley reports:
DeSteph noted that at-large and district council candidates must woo voters in a city of 440,000 people. Yet in the General Assembly, state senators represent only 220,000 constituents, and delegates, just 80,000.
“As you go up” in stature, he said, “the office should be more expensive” to run for.
It’s nigh impossible to campaign door to door in the city. Candidates usually have to raise $100,000 or more to have a fighting chance.
Oddly, the candidates for the 21st District delegate race, 1/5th the size of the city, spent $218,396 and $351,101 each. Proportionally, that would equate to at-least a million dollars each citywide. State Senate races, all smaller than Virginia Beach, boast several million dollar campaigns.
The claim that district races are cheaper than running citywide in Virginia Beach just doesn’t hold water. The assertion that City Council races in Virginia Beach outspend state races is flat out wrong.
And you can learn why if you actually see what campaigns spend money on.
WNIS AM-790 host Tony Macrini asked me why wouldn’t campaigns be less expensive in a ward system and I said, “It’s great to hear that WNIS will charge less for advertising to ward candidates than at-large candidates.”
That goes for TV, newspapers, websites, staff. Sure you can buy fewer signs, but then the cost per sign goes up as well. Not much savings.
They only real expense cheaper in a ward system is direct mail, but that leads us to another myth.
Myth #2 – Benefits of a ward system only go to challengers.
Shifting to a ward system might make it easier for a challenger to use direct mail to voters, but it also makes it easier for incumbents to send TEN pieces of mail to voters. Challengers can campaign door-to-door, but so can incumbents. Literally every benefit a challenger might get in a ward race, the incumbent gets as well.
Myth #3 – Challengers win ward races and not at-large.
Again, another fallacy. Of the 7 district Councilmen in Virginia Beach who ran at-large, 5 of them had to defeat incumbents. Looking over to Norfolk with its Ward System, incumbents hardly ever lose.
If you’re looking for a system where incumbents have the advantage, it’s a ward system. In Virginia Beach, Richard Maddox, Reba McClanan, John Perry, Jim Reeve, Barbara Henley, and Margaret Eure all wonder why they lost if Virginia Beach’s electoral system is so bad for challengers.
Meanwhile, in Norfolk, Paul Riddick weathers scandal after scandal and never loses, if he’s challenged at all.
Myth #4 – Voters get better representation in a ward.
Not really. Under a ward system, most of City Council never has to ask you for your vote. Instead of having a vote in every Council election, you vote for your one lonely Councilman with a few at large, inviting the clear majority of City Council to hang up on your call, ignore your email, and laugh in your face. You can never vote against them.
Instead of 11 votes, you’ll get at most 5. So much for your voice being heard.
Myth #5 – The goal of this is greater minority representation on City Council
Except that John Moss, the Councilman pushing a ward system, defeated a Minority Councilman to get there. If he wants greater minority representation on Council, it’s obviously less of a concern for him than his own election.
Myth #6 – Ward system elections are more fair
Actually, ward system elections make how the district lines are drawn one of the strongest factors with who wins a race. Not your vote. Not your support. Not how good a candidate is or how broad his support. How the lines are drawn. Every race will be tilted from the start. Currently, the district lines can’t tilt the playing field in Virginia Beach. Everyone runs citywide and has to appeal to a broad crosssection of voters.
Some think that’s actually a good thing, except for lackluster candidates who don’t appeal to a broad crossection of voters.
Ward system is their chosen form of welfare.
BOTTOM LINE: If Virginia Beach has a conversation about converting to a ward system, I hope the people proposing it actually present facts to back up their obviously false claims of benefits.
