E.J. Scott
Published: May 7, 2008

The opinion piece you printed on, May 5 in which you criticized the Manassas Democratic Party for not fielding candidates in the Manassas City Council election seemed to contradict itself. You say we need choice and then you denigrate a group working to provide it.

I do appreciate the call for more citizens to get involved with the local Democratic Party and that they consider running for office. We need concerned citizens who recognize the waste in government and disenfranchisement of neighbors to step forward and bring about positive change. It is the negative campaigning and distortions often perpetrated by political opponents, that gives pause to many who may
want to offer themselves as Democratic candidates. 

I’m in agreement that uncontested elections undermine the democratic process. The need for a competitive two party system, recognized by our founding fathers, still exists. 

But we need to take a look at uncontested elections in general and not focus on one party. The facts show that both Republicans and Democrats, in different jurisdictions, can find it difficult to recruit candidates for an election. The uncontested election in Manassas City is a microcosm of the commonwealth.

There were almost a dozen uncontested delegate races in the Northern Virginia region in November 2007. That doesn’t even count the uncontested races for School Board, commonwealth attorney and others. When you factor in the rest of the Commonwealth, it is most definitely a concern.

Part of the problem is the financial commitment that is made when running for office, no matter what that office might be. There’s fundraising (not enjoyable but necessary) and there is also the need to make accommodations to the work schedule of the candidate. In other words, can the candidate afford to run?

There is also the issue of having busy lives, as we all do, and having family responsibilities. I’ve spoken to many people interested in running, but have small children or family members who need them at home. Consider the amount of time folks are stuck in traffic. It’s robbing us of volunteer time for whatever group or organization needing our help, whether political or community related.

The larger statewide issue is that districts are gerrymandered to make safe seats for incumbents, instead of competitive seats. This discourages both voters and candidates from participating in the process if they feel the deck is stacked and their efforts will not make a difference.

The Virginia Senate overwhelmingly passed bipartisan legislation (33-5) that would have established a redistricting commission. This commission, it was hoped, would review and recommend reforms to the redistricting process used in Virginia to redraw both state and congressional district lines every 10 years. This would have been a positive change creating more normally configured districts in which voters would have benefited from more competition in elections. Competition brings debate and an emphasis on genuine problem solving. Although the more moderate Virginia Senate passed this bill, the
House Republicans voted it down in subcommittee.

Manassas City could benefit from a reevaluation of its city council elections. The current council is not representative of the entire city. The at-large elections tend to result in council members coming from the same side of town. A division by precinct or some other geographic partitioning would provide more equitable representation of our citizens and encourage participation from all areas of the city.
Precinct elections would decrease the time and financial investment needed from candidates. We suggest a council person from Hayden, a council person from Baldwin and so on.

So don’t polarize the electorate with the unfair implication that Manassas Democrats are not working to guarantee an active two party system, or that local Democrats should give up their efforts. The committee has shown Manassas democratic activism unseen in quite some time. Manassas Democrats have grown steadily over the last three years and have run state candidates.

Instead, let’s talk about election changes that will result in equal representation.

Let’s talk about the impact that the limited time and resources of our citizens have on elections and also on the non-profit groups who depend upon volunteerism.

Let’s talk about how our declining economy will limit more than just choices for our political destiny.

E.J. Scott is the chair of Manassas/Manassas Park Cities Democrats.