Too late for TV forums, city says

Lynchburg City Council agreed Tuesday to consider broadcasting election forums on a new local government channel in the future, but said nothing can be done in time for this year’s races.

“In my opinion, we can’t do this right now,” Mayor Joan Foster said, noting the spring elections are six weeks away. “It’s too premature, too fast.”

Last month, Lynchburg City launched its own all-government channel. At the same time, public access television, which previously hosted at least one election forum, was shut down.

In its absence, both the League of Women Voters of Lynchburg and the Lynchburg Regional Chamber of Commerce turned to the government station in hopes of having their respective City Council election forums put out over the airwaves.

The League of Women Voters has traditionally broadcast its forum on television. The chamber has not, but saw an opportunity to start a new tradition with the city channel, president Rex Hammond said.

Their requests were denied by city staff, who pointed to a policy that prohibits political content on the station. City Council tacked the issue onto the end of its budget session Tuesday. Members expressed differing levels of enthusiasm for the proposal, but agreed to consider it for later elections.

This year was out of the question, they agreed, because any forum coverage would have to be accompanied by a detailed policy governing how those events will be treated.

“I think something should be done,” Ward IV Councilman Joe Seiffert said. “But this late we’re going to mess it up, because we’re not going to be able to address the unintended consequences of what we do.”

City staff, who raised concerns about ensuring neutrality, also encouraged development of a new forum-centered policy and imposing some standards on what types of groups could make use of the broadcast service.

At council’s request, employees surveyed 15 other Virginia communities with government channels. Of those, 12 did not cover forums, including Roanoke. Three did, including Charlottesville.

Three of Lynchburg’s city councilmen did not weigh in on Tuesday’s discussion because they’re running for re-election and would be impacted by the outcome. No vote was taken, but staff was directed to draft a new policy in time for the 2010 elections.

Hammond, who was on hand at the meeting to voice his concerns, said he understood the decision but hoped a change would be approved later.

League of Women Voters President Molly McClenon, who was also present, said she was disappointed, calling this an issue of transparency and a matter of public interest.

When forums are broadcast, more people are able to see them, she said.

“And the more elections are talked about, the more people are going to participate enthusiastically,” she said.

Both the chamber and the league said they would proceed with their forums next month without the cameras. McClenon could not remember the last time a league forum was not aired on television.

Click here for more 2008 Lynchburg City Council elections coverage