Letter to the editor: Says Charles City needs only three supervisors

For 12 years I have watched Charles City grow in stature, if not in population. I have watched a public-school system improve from third worst in the State to somewhere in the middle. They even won recognition from a major news publication as one of the 17 most improved school systems in the country.

That occurred because of a change of school administration, a courageous school board that made good choices, and a three-member board of supervisors who supported those changes in both word and deed.

Charles City is a racially-mixed community that is approximately 46 percent African-American, 43 percent Caucasian and seven percent American Indian. As far back as I can tell, Charles City has always been managed by a three-member board that has generally mirrored the racial mix of the community – sometimes more and sometimes less, but always in tune with the soul of the community.

What confuses me is the desire to change a system that works and has been in place for so long. Most counties have five supervisors, but that is because of their size.

New Kent County has five supervisors, three times our size with 21,682 residents – one supervisor for every 4,336 residents. They are elected by voting district as are those in Charles City.

Henrico County also has five supervisors with a population of 327,898 – one for every 65,579 residents.

Charles City County has 7,004 residents and declining three-and-a-half perecent since 2010. Our ratio is one to 2,234. With five supervisors, the ratio would be one to 1,400 residents.

However, I believe the ratio of supervisors to residents is not the issue.

The issue is that a couple of politically-motivated individuals want control, but are unable to win an election in the normal manner. Their solution is to change the rules when you can’t win “fair and square.” By changing the voting structure and opening it to five members you also potentially change the racial makeup of the board.

Finally, where does the money come from – schools, recreation, library?

-$22,000 in yearly salaries + medical

-$100,000 in redistricting fees

-Additional travel and reimbursement costs

-Expense of two more voting machines

Charles City’s local elections are administered without the burden of party affiliation allowing our citizens to more freely vote for their candidate based upon the content of their candidate’s character and competence. Charles City is an up and coming community, let’s keep our hard-fought momentum.

Peter Churrins
Charles City