In these times of intense political division, one point of agreement appears to transcend ideological differences. Whether they lean right or left or stand somewhere in the middle, most Americans concur with the notion that elections have consequences. The most apparent of these, of course, is which individual will occupy the seat that was in play. A secondary consequence of some races, though, is that new vacancies may have resulted from an incumbent officeholder getting elected to a different position.

In Virginia city councils and school boards are empowered to fill vacancies in their complements resulting from “electoral promotion”, as well as resignation, removal, death, or disability. These are, however, interim appointments of no more than a year with permanent replacements required by means of a special election, which is usually set to coincide with the November election. As our most recent general election left the Portsmouth City and School Board with one prospective vacancy apiece — Council Member Shannon Glover will resign from council to become mayor and School Board Member De’Andre Barnes, from the board to become a council member — the respective elective bodies have to select a temporary officeholder.

Since the vacancies occur when the new year begins, the members of council and school board with unexpired terms as of that date and those elected this November will be the ones to select the replacements. Board Members Lakeesha Atkinson, Sarah Duncan Hinds, Claude Parent, Cardell Patillo, Tamara Shewmake, Yolanda Edwards Thomas, Vernon Lamont Tillage, and Ingrid Whitaker will choose their colleague; and Mayor Shannon Glover and Council Members De’Andre Barnes, Paul Battle, Lisa Lucas-Burke, William Moody, and Mark Whitaker, theirs. The city charter provides no direction to either elected body regarding the mechanics of the selection process, so anyone who meets the the qualifications specified in the charter or state code would be eligible. Appointment will be by majority vote of the respective body.

Both board and council have published the legally required notices soliciting applications from members of the public. Once the application period closes, the submissions will undergo review and discussion. The bodies may hold interviews of finalists in public or private. The official vote will occur in a special or regular meeting of council early next year, and the successful applicants will assume their duties thereafter. The legal framework in which these proceedings will occur requires no input from the public.

Yet, we live in what is nominally a democratic republic. We have the right to select our own representatives and to communicate our wishes regarding the matters they decide. The interim council and school board members will be acting on our behalf for the better part of the next year. For those reasons, we maintain that the voice of the public should be heard. Furthermore, we believe that the appointments could occur in a manner that accords with the popular will as expressed on November 3: Fill the vacancies with candidates who ended up just “out of the money”.

In the most recent local elections, each Portsmouth voter had the right to choose three candidates for city council and five for school board. The official results of the election show the rankings of all the hopefuls in each race. When each body will shortly have an opening for an additional officeholder, respecting the will of the people means tapping those next in line after the those declared elected. For school board, that would be Candidate Willie Bamberg; for city council, current School Board Member Tamara Shewmake.

Choosing those who recently competed for the positions is advantageous in several respects. First, we know they wanted the jobs enough to jump through all the hoops necessary to qualify as candidates. Second, they are “known quantities”, having gone on the record in various forums and public interviews about their positions on the issues facing the schools and the city. Third, they campaigned across the city, reaching out to a broad cross section of our residents rather than catering to some small segment of the population. Lastly, they came in well up in the rankings, in each case, just a few hundred votes short of success on the first round. We believe they have “the right stuff” to do the jobs they sought and deserve this opportunity to demonstrate that.

If you agree with this perspective, please convey your thoughts to the elected school board and council members who will be casting the actual votes. The more of us who express ourselves on this matter to that audience, the more likely we are to achieve the desired outcome. In the end the people whom the interim appointees will serve are we the people of Portsmouth. We have a right to be heard.

Mark Geduldig-Yatrofsky, Publisher