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4 <br /> <br />Direct Election of Mayor <br /> <br /> Mr. O'Brien said that the Task Force discussed having the role of the Mayor be <br />essentially the same as it is now, but they would have more of a bully pulpit because they <br />would be directly elected. <br /> <br /> Mr. Lynch said he would not support this change. He said he thinks the way it <br />currently functions is a good example. He said ultimately the Mayor presides over <br />meetings, forms consensus and move things forward. He said when the Council gets <br />along with the Mayor things move fast, but if not, nothing happens. He said by definition <br />the Mayor is a consensus builder because he is able to get three votes in the first place. <br /> <br /> Mr. Caravati said that having a directly elected Mayor can be good, but given the <br />size and current structure he does not see it as being a benefit. He said it would not be <br />much of a change in reality. He said the bully pulpit can be good or dangerous. <br /> <br /> Mr. Schilling said he thinks it would be interesting to have it here. He said he is <br />not saying everything about it would be good, but he would like to study it further. <br /> <br /> Ms. Hamilton said her experience with an elected Mayor is very different. In <br />Charleston, the Mayor has been in office for 30 years and the Council is superfluous. <br />said she does not know how it would work in a city the size of Charlottesville. <br /> <br />She <br /> <br /> Dr. Brown said the issue is whether having a directly elected mayor is likely to <br />affect voter turnout. He said this could be something positive, but he is not sure it would <br />outweigh the negative in our current system. He said the Mayor has support from <br />Council now in being elected. He said he would not necessarily want to move this idea <br />forward. He said Council elections are being moved to November and before the system <br />is changed in a significant way he would want to see if that bumps up the civic <br />participation. If moving the elections to November does not affect much change, then he <br />would support bringing the idea back to consider. <br /> <br /> Dr. Brown asked if there is support for moving this idea forward and looking at it <br />more closely. <br /> <br />Mr. Schilling said he would support this. <br /> <br />Dr. Brown said he could support bringing it back after the elections are held in the <br /> <br />fall. <br /> <br />Mixed Ward and At-Large Elections <br /> <br /> Mr. O'Brien said that it was the consensus of the Task Force that we should not <br />go to an all ward system which would introduce more problems than it would solve. He <br />said the Task Force discussed a seven member Council, four being from wards and three <br />at-large. He said this was not mixed in with the issue of having a directly elected Mayor. <br />He said the City would first have to draw new wards if a decision was made to pursue <br />this. <br /> <br /> Responding to a question from Dr. Brown, Mr. Brown said that the Council <br />would draw the wards with the approval of the Justice Department. <br /> <br /> Mr. O'Brien said that the Justice Department would require that there be no <br />retrogression regarding African-American representation in the redrawing of wards. <br /> <br /> Mr. Brown said that numerical equality would be needed in the drawing of the <br />wards and they must be compact and contiguous. He said it would be a challenge to <br />violate that requirement in Charlottesville. He said there are a lot of factors to consider in <br />redrawing the wards, including politics and incumbents. <br /> <br /> Dr. Brown asked about the cost ofredrawing the wards, and Mr. Brown said there <br />would be a cost, but he has no idea what it would be. <br /> <br /> <br />