OPINION: Are Local Politics Only for Democrats?
Last fall, councilman and former mayor Dave Snyder “disassociated” himself from the Virginia Republican Party, then went a step further by placing perhaps the largest Obama sign in the City in front of his house. Earlier this month Planning Commission chairman John Lawrence announced in a letter to the Falls Church News-Press that he’d switched his allegiance from the Republicans to the Democrats.
This is hardly unusual. Politicians have been crossing the aisle for hundreds of years wherever there is an aisle to cross. Winston Churchill did it more than once. But there is no aisle in Falls Church City. Elections here have long been non-partisan.
However, both a serving councilman and a possible council candidate apparently have felt it necessary to publicly proclaim their rejection of a party that theoretically has no role in municipal elections. The News-Press story that referenced Mr. Lawrence’s declaration called it “a smart move.”
Perhaps it is, but where does that leave former councilman Kieran Sharpe who, according to the News-Press, remains a Republican? Should Mr. Sharpe, who reportedly is recruiting council candidates for next May’s election, now proclaim he has switched parties and seek out only fellow Democrats or declare himself a Democrat if he chooses to run himself?
Mr. Sharpe is not the only Republican in the city. There are others or at the very least ones who vote Republican. Almost 2,000 people here voted for Senator McCain in 2008. Perhaps Mr. Sharpe and one or two more of them might be inclined to run for a council or school board seat in 2010. If they decide to do so, will they face the question, “Are you now or have you ever been a Republican?”
If they do, it will only diminish the political process in Falls Church. Ultimately, success or failure at our ballot box should depend not on candidates’ national political affiliations but on how well voters believe they will serve the City.
Mr. Snyder’s and Mr. Lawrence’s declarations most likely were driven more by conscience than by calculation. Mr. Sharpe should be free to follow his conscience and, it he so chooses, remain a Republican. How he or any other candidate votes in November should not matter in May.
By George Bromley
July 20, 2009
I am a Republican and no one ever held me back because of it. Local government primarily deals with (i) land use, (ii) paying for schools, and (iii) the appropriate tax/service balance. None of these is particularly partisan in the national party sense. Even (iii) rarely ventures into the “limited government” discussion — at least not in Falls Church. I can tell you as a former elected official that the basic expectation of this community is for a high degree of local government services — no matter what someones party affiliation. Many, many more people complain that “Arlington has this and we don’t”, as opposed to “we need local government to do less.” National party affiliation just isn’t important locally.
Being a R or D is a lot different than running as one in our non-partisan elections. If Mr. Sharpe runs as an R, with support from the local Republican committee, it would have an earthquate-like effect on our political system and would exclude many good potential candidates who work for the federal government and are subject to the Hatch Act. That being said, I have never heard a candidate being asked “are you now or have you ever been a Republican” in a public forum.