J4CC

Am I running as a Democrat or Republican? I get asked this question a lot.

Here in Fredericksburg, our local elections are nonpartisan. There is no D or R next to the names on the ballot.

From the Mayor to City Council to School Board, political parties do not play a role in our City Government.

Community services, like schools, police and fire, water, sewer, roads, etc., need to be run efficiently. Partisanship is irrelevant to providing these services.

Likewise, political affiliation has no relevance to the challenges the City is facing. Competency, leadership, and innovation are the order of the day. (Most communities rely on nonpartisan local elections to pick their leaders. I was surprised to learn that only eight of the 30 largest cities in the U.S. have partisan elections for local officials.)

But everyone is entitled to have party loyalties, and support the leaders who share their political views, right? Of course. And so, the elections in November for our representatives in Richmond and Washington are partisan.

In the General Assembly and in Congress, there is a literal aisle down the middle, separating Republicans from Democrats, a perfect metaphor for party politics.

Here at the local level, your elected representatives on City Council and the School Board put their political views aside for the greater good of the City. At City Hall, during City Council meetings, your elected leaders literally face each other – horse-shoe seating – an arrangement that invites consensus and encourages compromise. Elected officials are empowered to pursue policy in the public interest, rather than their respective party’s interests.

When voters enter the voting booth for a nonpartisan election, there are no clear clues about a candidate’s political party affiliation. No (R). No (D).

Voters in local elections need to learn about the candidates who would like to represent them, since there is no party platform. Sometimes a voter will remember the name of an incumbent from a news article and base their vote on that familiarity. Some people ‘pass’ on local elections if they don’t know who is running for the different offices.

That’s why it’s so important to me to meet, listen and connect with as many folks in the city as possible. It’s important to me as the candidate – but it’s equally important to the voters in the City. Local elections have significant consequences for voters and their families.

Leading our City, without regard to a political party has far more advantages than disadvantages.

In a City as small as Fredericksburg, and with the challenges we are facing being so impactful to the future of our City, I think that we all benefit from less partisanship and more cooperation.

You elect your City representatives based upon what they can do for you, your children and your children’s children.

Here, partisanship has little or nothing to do with getting things done at the local level, and that’s a very good thing.

‍

 Back