Why Divisions Are Right for Central

    Divisions…I'm talking about how the people of Central are represented by Council Members, not about people disagreeing.  There were promises made when the current Council Members were running for office in 2010.  Council Members Messina, Washington and LoBue made the campaign promise that they would push to change Central's current "At Large" election method to "Districts".  However, last fall the City Council was given the opportunity to vote to create five Districts, yet Messina, Washington and LoBue voted against this while Moak and DeJohn voted in favor.  The three voting against five Districts made it clear that they would only support Districts if they were allowed to create two additional "At Large" seats on City Council.  This would have cost the taxpayers at least $80,000 per Council Term.  Council Members Messina, Washngton, and LoBue then voted to give Central bigger government by adding seats to the City Council but Council Members Moak and DeJohn, with the support of a Mayoral veto, prevented this governmental expansion.

    So here we are, almost a year later, still with no assigned representation for each area of Central.  In fact, all five current Council Members live in the south part of Central within just a mile or two from the intersection of Greenwell Springs and Sullivan.   There is a simple solution…Divisions.  Some would like to paint Divisions as complicated, but they are not.  Central would be divided into five areas called Divisions.  Under Districts these same areas would be called Districts.  The City Council elections would be held and interested persons would declare themselves as candidates for one of these five areas.  The election would be held with five "races" in the five areas and the winner of each race would be the Council member for that area, responsible to represent that area, or Division, of Central for the next four years.  Simple.

    So where is the confusion?  Unlike Districts, a candidate does not have to live in the area he/she seeks to represent.  Certainly a candidate FROM that area should have a larger base of support from those voters, but ANY Central resident can run in ANY Division.  This certainly answers the objection raised by Council Member Messina when he said that it would be "..harmful and a loss to the City of Central brainpower-wise and effort-wise if of the five Councilmen that are in District 1 when we go to 2014 when the election is, if automatically four of them could not, would not be elected.  I am going to be in favor of five Districts and the two At Large.   That way it would give those folks an opportunity to run At large."  So, yes, Councilman Messina, under Divisions all five of you can get re-elected in 2014.  Problem solved.

    Another "confusion" is who votes for what Council races.  Under Districts you only get to vote for the few people running in the District you live in.  I'm sure there will be a chart or something to help you figure that out because there are no yellow lines projected on the ground, like the first down line in football broadcasts, which separate the Districts and tell you which one you live in.  You could also just try to push buttons in the voting booth until you find the one that works, and that is the District you live in.  Now THAT, is complicated.  Divisions? Walk into the voting booth and vote for one candidate in EACH race.  Yes, you, the Citizens of Central, get to choose ALL FIVE Council Members who will represent YOUR city.

    And who are the Council Members answerable to in Divisions?  Certainly if the Council Member representing Division 1 does a poor job of taking the concerns of that area of the City to the Council Meetings, they will automatically lose 20% of the votes in the next election.  However, if they fail to consider the needs of the City as a whole, they will lose 80% of the vote in the next election.  Divisions is a pretty neat system.  Every Council Member is answerable to every voter, giving each citizen FIVE "go to" people when they have a problem, but one in particular who will be the most familiar with the unique concerns of YOUR area of Central.  Council Members have a responsibility to bring the concerns of each area of our city to the Council and to advocate the needs of that area, but then when the decision is ultimately made the greater good of the entire community must be considered as well.  That sounds like good representation to me.

    There are some other things to talk about in the area of Districts and Divisions, so feel free to send your questions or comments to [email protected] or call me at 262-3730.  I will address any questions and comments in next week's commentary.  I will also debunk some other Divisions myths including Council Members being arbitrarily assigned to an area of town by drawing their name out of a hat.  (Yes, a Council Member believed that.)