Supervisors nix staggered terms

VERONA – Augusta County Supervisor Tracy Pyles said Wednesday he would now take his proposal for staggered terms of board members directly to the citizens of Augusta County with a petition drive.

Supervisors voted 4-3 Wednesday night against holding a public hearing on staggered terms of members, and also voted to keep the county’s current election cycle of all seven members being elected during a consistent four-year cycle.

“I’m determined, maybe wrongly,” said Pyles, who added he will visit county carnivals and lawn parties and hopes to get the help of others in getting Augusta County’s registered voters to sign a petition for a binding referendum on staggered terms.

Virginia law allows for a binding referendum if 10 percent of the county’s 43,119 registered voters sign a petition requesting the referendum.

Pyles said earlier in Wednesday’s board meeting that it was time to at least ask for a public hearing on the idea of holding supervisor elections every two years, with three members being elected in one vote, and four more two years later.

“We have not asked our bosses what they think,” Pyles said. “Let’s have a public hearing.”

Pyles said the public hearing would help supervisors in learning whether the current system “is broken or not.”

But supervisors opposed to the move said staggered terms were not needed, and constituents had not called for the change.

“This issue has never come up with my constituents,” said Wayne District Supervisor Wendell Coleman.

He said Wayne residents contact him about roads, fire service and development, but never talk about staggered terms.

Riverheads Supervisor Nancy Sorrells rejected the idea that holding elections every two years would make supervisors more accountable than they already are.

“Each of us is held accountable very single day. It’s a 24/7 job,” Sorrells said. She said it is not good governance to throw all decisions into the political arena.

A speaker at Wednesday’s meeting, David Karaffa, of Waynesboro, said staggered terms are both an important and overdue issue in Augusta County and should be adopted immediately.

“The board would be more accountable if the elections were more frequent,” he said.

Karaffa said congressional elections are held every couple of years, and what was more at issue was whether supervisors would listen to the wishes of Augusta County residents.