We don’t know who will become
the next mayor of Richmond. But whoever that person is will be
the head of the first strong mayor form of government for
Richmond and will make history in his own right. The one
thing that history teaches us is that if we do not heed it, we
are bound to repeat it.
ELECTION ODDITIES
While many bemoaned how close the
last election came, especially after the intervention of the
Supreme Court and the debacle of the Florida voting results,
some are anticipating another close call. We were
reminded of a little remembered election factoid recently when
reading about the relationship between Thomas Jefferson and
Aaron Burr. According to Peter Jackson, who wrote for Larry
Sabato’s Crystal Ball e-column, “Only once in
American history has the Electoral College tied. In 1800,
Thomas Jefferson once again challenged John Adams for the
presidency and beat him 73 to 65 electoral votes.
However, prior to the passage of the Twelfth Amendment,
electors did not case their votes for a two person ticket.
While the electors intended to cast their votes for
Jefferson as President and Burr as Vice President, by giving
both men 73 votes, the election was sent to the House of
Representatives. As the Constitution prescribed, the
House voted for the winner, with each state’s delegation
receiving one vote. After 36 ballots and numerous
attempts by both the Federalists and Burr to steal the
presidency, Jefferson finally prevailed.”
By the way, Thomas Jefferson became
the nation’s third President by virtue of the kindness of
some
in every urban city, town, or county in
the Commonwealth as well. Sure, this change in structure
might be very good for Richmond. But it might also sound
the death knell of the city manager, county administrator or
executive forms of government as we know them. If this is
a success for Richmond, and the city is certainly due for one
soon, it will no doubt export to other urban localities across
the state.
If you think this cannot happen in
your locality, or on your watch, listen to what mayoral
candidate Doug Wilder has to say about the situation in
Richmond. “In the past two years,” he posted
on his website, “Richmond’s [citizens] and others
who recognize the great potential for the Commonwealth’s
capital city have worked against great odds to bring about
change and a reforming of government.
“We began by pointing out the
need to change the way in which the mayor of the city is
chosen. We were successful in that effort primarily
because of the support provided from across the broad spectrum
of the demographic make up of the city, including those who did
not actually live in the city, but shared the same pride and
held the same dreams for its potential for city dwellers.
I am personally pleased with the broad support from every
socioeconomic interest - the business and corporate community,
the general population, the majority, and the minority
communities as well ...
“The results of these efforts
resulted in 80 percent of the voters approving of the
recommendations to elect the mayor from the city at large
rather than by the present system of having a majority of the
district chosen council members select the mayor ...”
