Newspapers / The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, … / March 31, 1977, edition 1 / Page 13
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District Representation By Neil C. WUliam City Councilmen Recently, a coalition of Charlotte neighborhood groups obtained the 5,000 sig natures on a petition required by state law to force a refer endum on a plan of district ntatluii fui tlie electluii of Charlotte City Council members. The plan to be voted upon calls for an ll member Council with four members elected at-large and seven from districts. The pre sent Council consists of seven members, all elected at-large. Whether Council members favor the plan or not, state law requires that the Council set a referendum on the particular plan submitted-not just the concept of district representa- tion-tetween sixty and one hundred twenty days after receipt of the petition; conse quently, the Council has sche duled the referendum for A- pril 19. State law also requires that the Council draw the boundaries for the seven dis tricts, a task which the Coun cil has now completed. During the municipal elec tion campaign of 1975, 1 a- greed to support a form of district representation, so long as there were not too many districts and so long as there were as many at-large ao district ^ MISS DEBORAH WALKER ...J.C. Smith majorette Elbony Magazine Features jeSU Queen seats. Aiiiuiig tlie reasons for some form of district representation are the following: (1) As we grow, it is becoming increasingly diffi cult for each Council member to represent approximately 300,000 persons, who have di verse interests, problems and concerns; (2) Some of our citizens feel estranged .and alienated from their local go vernment, an unfortunate con dition which a form of district representation might miti gate; (3) if Charlotte and Mecklenburg County ever con solidate their governments, almost everyone concedes that district representation will be inevitable. If the City alone moved to a modest form of district representation, which proved workable and popular with the people, one more obstacle to consolidation would have been removed. However, it is my opinion that a sudden change to a 7-4 plan attempts to go too far, too fast. A citizen would no longer be able to vote for a majority 01 the members of the Councii, and conceivably with many small districts some district representatives may become so entrenched that they will be re-elected without opposition. The proposed charger for the consolidated government of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, which failed decisive ly in 1971, called for 12 district and 6 at-large members of the governing board. Many people opposed that charter because a citizen could not vote for a majority of the board. Whenever there is a prepon derance of districts, there is also the risk of sectionalism, which seems to be magnified at the local level of govern ment For example, in the area of capital projects, such as parks, highways, airports. scattered site public housing, and garbage truck depots, each district likely would want the desirable projects, but would not want the undesira ble projects. If each district representative reOected the Sttlturips nf only his bailiwn.'lt, the result would be stalemate, and essential projects would not get built Such a stalemate conceiva bly could be broken in two ways, neither of which is very appealing. One way would be for district representatives to swap votes and make deals or trade-offs in the back room and away from the eyes of the public. A second way might be to duplicate projects for each district, a practice historically known as pork-barrel politics. A Council increased in size from seven to eleven mem bers. compared to a five- member County Commission and a nine-member School Board, raises the possibility that the body would accom plish little more than debate. In a Council-Manager form of government like Charlotte s, if Council members wrangle without agreement, more de cisions would likely be made by the City .Manager and his staff, with the result that poltey would be made les.i by the ^'i the people L nhappilj . the defeat ol the 7-4 plan will be necessary in order to try first a more balanced and modest plan ol district representation In changing a form of govern ment evolution is the safest, most predictable, and least irreversible course, which is another wa\ of saving, ' test the water before taking a total plunge." Next week: Sam H. Smith. President. Westside Commu- nity Organization Keep your out-of-town friends informed on what's happening in Charlotte by- sending them a copy of the Charlotte Post each week. The cost is only $8 per year. 392-1306 or 392-1307 These Are Numbers ^ e Have InstalJed To Receive Your News. Tips. Suggestions and Cx>mplaints: (.all Mondav Thnmph Fridav B«*fore 6 P. \I. A&P QUALITY HEAVY WESTERN GRAIN FED BEEF ' ^ SMMLSIEJUd By Deborah Gates Post Staff Writer Lovely Deborah Walker from Washington, D.C. is one of the 68 Black Campus Queens featured in April Eb ony. This Chocolate City beau ty who reigns as Miss Johnson C. Smith University is a Phy sical Education major, majo rette and Kappa Sweetheart at Smith. Local Students To Receive WSSU Awards By Deborah Gates Post Staff Writer Elise Donald and Joanne Gloon from the Music and History departments fi^pec- tively have maintained the highest cumulative averages In their fields, and will be recipients of honor awards on Wednesday, April 6, at Wins ton-Salem State University’s Annual Honors Day program. Being represented in the Kenneth R. Williams Audito rium on the campus at lOa.m., the program will feature Dr. Margaret Alexander, profes- fdr a£-gnflli«h nnH director of the Institute for the study of History, Life, and Culture of Black People, Jackson State University, Jackson, Missis- sippi. “There has been a contrated effort to heighten the acade mic achievement aspirations of the student body by calling attention to those students who have maintained out standing academic records,” Mr. Warren C. Oldham, Direc tor of the Scholastic Achieve ment Program said in an nouncing plans for the occa sion. He added that Honors u Day, which is held in the f ’ spring of each year, is design- to focus on those students. The university will pay spe cial tribute to all full-time studentawfao have made high achievement in various acade mic flelds during the school year. According to April Ebony, Beauty is no longer the sole criterion by which Campus Queens are selected. Ebony said that ample evidence of this is brought out by the many talents and scholastic achievements of today’s Black Campus Queens. This does not mean that good looks, charm and personality are not impor tant for the ceremonial figure head who represents a parti cular college, but today’s queens are chosen with an emphasis on academic a- chievement and leadership a- bility. For example, shapely Debo rah, who is a majorette, plans to pursue a graduate career in public information. In a recent survey of Black Campus Queens by Ebony, most of the lovely ladies were found to be career-oriented with their sights on a large variety-of-ppofessioBS, A-ma^. jority say they plan to seek advance degrees in their re spective majors. Marriage? Perhaps, but their fields of study take percedence now. April Ebony found such atti tudes typical of the Black Campus Queens surveyed. Queen’s College ToSponscH* Student Fhonodion Queen’s College is sponsor ing the first all-student .Queen’s College Pbonothon which began Wednesday March 30. ’This unique fund raising program got under way with approximately 150 students who volunteered to do the telephoning in McEwm Hall from 7 to 9 p.m. for nine evenings, for the purpose of raising 1^,000 for the o^j^e. The phonothon memSers which consists of 30 girls per ntgfaV, complete about W ralli each in the two hour span. The phonothon wlil continue tofilgErthrougn April six, se ven, eleven, thirieen, eigh teen, twenty, and twenty-first. 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The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
March 31, 1977, edition 1
13
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