Ed. — Archived from the Sunday, July 21, print edition.
BY JOHN-HENRY DOUCETTE
BACK BAY — I recently wrote about the importance of local elections, urging citizen involvement and attention to every choice on the ballot. I framed that point in response to my frustration about the options major parties are giving us for the presidency.
Some of you disagreed with my sentiments, which are not changed by the cowardly assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump in Pennsylvania. Trump survived, but a person died and others were wounded. I, like most of us, am horrified and pray this will be an isolated moment of violence this election year.
That said, a community newspaper in rural Virginia Beach does not cover presidents all that much. My concern remains the down-ticket elections that offer us a greater opportunity to have a say in government.
I had an interaction online in which I said the most important elections on the ballot this year may be for the School Board, a body that has seen the balance of power shift over the past few years. Anyone paying attention knows it is possible the political balance of power on the board will change even more this year. That influences policy and the future direction of the schools.
There has been little local news coverage about the board, and I suspect local media will pay it little mind during a presidential election year, especially when six candidates are running for mayor of Virginia Beach, among many other campaigns.
A commenter disagreed with my statement that this was more important than the presidency. Fair enough. But I hope we can consider that every race on a ballot is as important as the next for informed voters who understand how our governments work.
It’s not my place to tell you how to vote, but it’s reasonable to remind my neighbors about the power we grant local officeholders. After that? What you do with what I say, if anything at all, is up to you.
This stuff matters in the immediate future and down the road. Among other things, the folks we elect to local office sometimes move up to what some consider bigger jobs.
An obvious Virginia Beach example might be Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, who served in the General Assembly before winning statewide office, but two others from our city come to my mind because of the speed of their advancement.
They are U.S. Rep. Jen Kiggans, a Republican now seeking a second term in Congress, and state Sen. Aaron Rouse, a Democrat seeking his party’s endorsement for lieutenant governor in 2025.
Rouse, a former professional football player who founded a nonprofit, served on the City Council after placing first in 2018 among several folks seeking at-large seats under the former local voting system. It was the first time he sought public office.
Rouse announced but later dropped a run for mayor in 2020, citing the difficulty of campaigning amid the pandemic. In early 2023, he won a special election to represent the former Virginia Senate District 7 seat – completing a term Kiggans began – then won election later that year for the District 22 seat that resulted from redistricting.
Next year? He may be on the ballot to become Virginia’s lieutenant governor.
Kiggans, a nurse practitioner and a veteran, is now an incumbent aiming to win a second term in Congress, but she first sought public office not so long ago.
In 2019, she won a GOP primary for the former District 7 seat in the Virginia Senate against School Board Member Carolyn Weems and went on to defeat former state Del. Cheryl Turpin in a general election.
In 2022, Kiggans, while in her first term as a state senator, defeated three others in a primary to be the Republican nominee for the 2nd Virginia Congressional District. She then defeated the incumbent, U.S. Rep Elaine Luria, a Democrat.
I’m not criticizing Kiggans or Rouse in any way. I’m just pointing out that people we choose to elect to local or state government are in a position to move up to higher office and greater responsibility.
Ultimately, we decide whether to promote our leaders. I figure we do this best when we exercise our duty as informed voters. We should pay attention to every race on the ballot. Odds are decent that we’ll see some of these names again and again.
My friend Glen Mason, a contributor to The Independent News, seeks support for a documentary about Sam Allen, now 88, a Norfolk native who played baseball for several Negro League teams before answering the call to military service.
Mason’s film is a piece of local and national history that also serves as a highlight film for a terrific player who should be remembered. Mason is directing and producing the film under the working title Sam Allen: A New October. Mason is seeking sponsorship and grants to complete editing and post-production, pay for film contest entries and support a local premier.
Please reach him by emailing glenm@icloud.com or texting via (757) 943-0962.
My friend Christopher Mele, an award-winning journalist at The New York Times, just published his first novel, Goodwill’s Secrets, a mystery. Mele has been incredibly generous to The Independent News, including editing some of our coverage of the 2019 mass shooting.
I hope you will learn more about his new book via chrismeleauthor.com.
Now a couple of housekeeping notes:
Reach me via jhd@princessanneindy.com or (757) 502-5393 if your business or organization will carry the 2024 voter guide edition in September. I plan to make it available throughout the city.
And we’re on a scheduled summer production break. We return in print on Sunday, Aug. 11.
© 2024 Pungo Publishing Co., LLC
