Letters to the Editor for Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Ward III precinct controversy

Tone it down
As I watch the Ward III voting concerns unfold, I am fascinated by the choice of divisive words used by Vice Mayor Bert Dodson, Councilman Jeff Hegelson and Liberty University Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr.: “Liberty students consider this a slap in the face,” “You have to ask yourself what is the motive of the five Democrats on council …” and the like.

The LU students and graduates I’ve met are intelligent, hard-working, generous in their charity work and skilled in communicating with others. They are also capable of expressing their own opinions. If asked to identify themselves, most would answer “I am a Christian,” not “I am a Republican” or “I am a Democrat.” They certainly would not desire a change they felt would be “disrespectful” to the permanent residents of Lynchburg, as Mr. Dodson’s words imply.

If you are shouting, if you display anger, if your words are divisive, the only people who will actively listen to your opinions are the ones who already agree with you. What good will that do? When there is a problem, you will solve it better by uniting people than by dividing people.

Mr. Hegelson and Mr. Falwell, your concerns are important. LU is filled with caring and inspiring students and their opinions and votes are also important. They do, however, already have a convenience that employed people do not. They have the entire day to cast their votes, not just before or after work. They have buses to transport them to a voting location; most people have to drive themselves, walk or take public transportation.

There should be no “Republican against Democrat” or “us against them” rhetoric. How about, as the Lord’s Prayer begins with “Our Father,” we attempt to work together as brothers and sisters with a common goal.
RONNY ROSEVEARE
Lynchburg

A travesty
If the quotes from Liberty University Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. are accurate (The News & Advance, Feb. 21), I would encourage him to try to view the larger picture.

He considers the rejection of two LU-backed polling places as an obvious way to discourage LU students from voting. However, the fact is that moving the location to Candlers Station shopping center would discourage many of the other voters of Ward III. The thought of having to negotiate the congested traffic along Wards Road or Candlers Mountain Road to get to their polling place would likely deter many from voting.

And they would not have the luxury of chartered buses provided to get them to and from their voting location.

Mr. Falwell claims that Liberty students would feel disenfranchised if the polling place is not moved right next door to LU. I would ask that he open his heart long enough to consider that it is the other long-time voters — and permanent residents — of Ward III that could take such a move as a “slap in the face.”

Perhaps the proposed location on Wards Ferry Road has some safety issues, but surely a location can be found that will not create such a hardship for the non-LU voters of that ward. Until that location is found, the polling place should remain in its present location at Heritage Elementary School.
MARCIA McKENZIE
Lynchburg

Student safety
I would first like to praise The News & Advance for its balanced account of the Ward III precinct controversy. You have given us the plain facts, a true anomaly in journalism today!

I think it is crucial for Liberty University students (like myself, though I live off Boonsboro Road) to be able to vote at a location closer to the university.

Make no mistake, LU students can and will vote wherever the polling place is located in beautiful Ward III. It just makes no logistical or political sense to place the voting booth in a building with both a driveway that is inaccessible to GLTC buses and a miniscule number of parking spaces in comparison to the bulk of students arriving to vote that day. What we have here is a recipe for pandemonium and a myriad of safety hazards.
STEPHEN WALSH
Lynchburg

Out-of-state tags?
According to the Liberty University Web site, 64 percent of its students are from out-of-state and more than 500 from out of the country.

If Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. did not suspend classes and bus large groups to the polls, the students would drive their own cars to the poll, smaller numbers would arrive at any given time, and it would make little difference where their polling place was located. Of course, this would mean a number of vehicles with New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts license plates parking in plain view of TV cameras and the real residents of Lynchburg.

Many LU students volunteer throughout our city, and I appreciate their service. But I am very skeptical that most within the LU community are as concerned about the economic problems we are facing as our permanent residents are.

There are discussions in School Board and City Council meetings about where, what and how much to cut from a dwindling amount of revenue. I have heard several LU students complain about the meals and sales taxes they pay. If an LU-backed slate of candidates were to be elected in May and these tax sources reduced or eliminated, the only way to make up this money is an increase in our property taxes. I really don’t want to pay higher property taxes.

Let’s pick a polling location available to all and see who shows up.
NANCY CARDWELL
Lynchburg

No conspiracy
The possible choice of a new polling location in Ward III will have a large impact there and in Lynchburg as a whole. Equally important to this area is the way Jerry Falwell Jr. has approached this debate.

Rather than use constructive arguments to help further his cause, Falwell has concluded that there is a conspiracy to disenfranchise LU students and resorted to making baseless accusations. We all care about the safety of voting sites, and to imply that our City Council would place partisanship over safety needs is absurd.

Falwell grossly overstated his case when he compared this situation to Jim Crow era disenfranchisement. To place it in the same category as one of our nation’s greatest injustices is ignorant and insensitive. As chancellor, Falwell can and should argue on behalf of his students, especially when it comes to the right to vote. Using such bully tactics does more harm than good.

I welcome and encourage LU students to educate themselves and to vote in local elections. I do not welcome Falwell’s exaggerated statements or his veiled threats of voter backlash. These actions are expected from big city political bosses, not from the leader of an institute of higher learning. No matter the outcome of this debate, Falwell needs to be reminded that his title is “Chancellor,” not “Boss.”
BRIAN HOFMANN
Lynchburg

Partisan hats
According to Mayor Joan Foster in a Feb 21 News & Advance story, “political hats are left at the door.” My source of confusion lies in the actions of some council members, both in and out of council chambers, and how it differs from their words.

In a May 30 blog post by Marc Schewel, he identifies Vice Mayor Bert Dodson and Foster as “two of my Democratic friends on City Council.”

On Oct. 22, WSET featured a story “Democrats formally back Valentine,” and in the picture are Dodson, Foster and Councilman Ceasor Johnson.

On Aug. 18, 2008, Foster was invited to be part of a delegation handpicked to meet with Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama; normally an honor reserved for party insiders.

On Oct. 25, The News & Advance ran a story and photo about Creigh Deeds’ rally in Lynchburg, and Foster was in the background of the picture.

I do not recall seeing the mayor at any Republican events during the last general election.
LEE BEAUMONT
Lynchburg
Editor’s note: Beaumont is director of auxiliary services at Liberty University.

Schism in the city
There is a schism in our fine city between what I will loosely label as “city residents in general” and “city residents who are supportive of the agenda of Jerry Falwell Jr., chancellor of Liberty University.” Anyone who follows local news, elections and government is certainly aware of the ongoing friction and debate regarding the LU and Falwell influence on Lynchburg.

It is important to note here that I have no animosity toward LU students or graduates. They or their parents selected LU because of their desire to receive a specific kind of Christian education they believe is right for them. That is fine with me as long as they stop short of trying to project their narrow religious beliefs on our city as a whole.

The place where this intersects with our city is at the voting booths of Ward III-4, where LU students vote. It must be said plainly that LU students have the legal right to vote there in local, state and national elections. What is troubling to me and many others is the inordinate impact that these student voters can have on matters that they, by and large, are not familiar with — and are probably not very interested in. Yet their bloc voting has become a weapon for the Falwell Machine in its quest for power and control.

LU students are told that City Council does not care about matters of importance to LU, and that some are politically motivated to suppress the LU student vote in the current flap over polling sites. This charge is absurd, but it serves as a “straw-man” for Falwell to have students rally against. And despite his claims that he does not tell students who to vote for, he is directly quoted in Sunday’s edition of this newspaper as asking “what is the motive of the five Democrats on council” in choosing a particular location for Ward III voters. There is nothing remotely subtle about this “back-door” endorsement of Republican candidates, one or more of whom have no doubt aligned themselves with LU in a devil’s bargain to get elected.
BILL BLACKWELL
Lynchburg