Cabarrus Cheap Seats

1) They aren’t doing a really bad job. When have you heard the Concord City Council doing anything that stirred up enough controversy for a news article besides a zoning issue here and there and not lowering taxes have the revaluation? They’ve got a leg to stand on if they had to run on the this-is-a-nice-place-don’t-mess-with-it platform.

2) The combination of a non-partisan, at-large elected, but qualified by district.

Analysis

First, let’s address this whole non-partisan issue. For all the reported voter distaste with partisan politics - only 19.5% of the voters in Cabarrus County are registered as unaffiliated. This is inspite of the fact that unaffiliated voters can cast ballots in the major party primaries. Some will say that this is a vestige of the old party machine days; but of the voters under the age of 40 - 3 out of 4 in Cabarrus County affiliate with a party (60% of those are Republicans, by the way). The real reason - local Democrats trying to hold on to office as the national party diverges from the values of people in communities like Concord.

Now, a case can be made that non-partisan elections allow candidates from across the ideological spectrum to have a fair shot; and it keeps the election open beyond the party primary. However, try out this exercise. In at least one sentence describe how the ideology and/or voting pattern of any two of the Cabarrus County Commissioners differs from the majority. Not to hard, right? Now, try that for the Concord City Council. A little harder, isn’t it?

I’m not making a call for action…just talking.

Now, this is the real incumbancy insurance. Concord City Council members are voted for at-large (in other words, all City residents vote for any of the Council members); but the City Council Members come from one of seven geographical districts within the city. So, we can restrict the pool of candidates by limiting them by districts.

How does this work? OK, let’s just say that someone wants to take on City Hall and one of the candidates is the one driving you nuts. He’s (if it’s the Concord City Council, it’s a he and never a she) up for re-election and you’re going to take him to task. Well, if he ain’t in your district you’re going to have to take on someone that you might not have a problem with. In this case, you’re less likely to register. Ergo, incumbent runs unopposed.

As for districts, this is where it gets really interesting. Try this for fun. Go look yourself up on the NC Voter Search Site. Go to the “Voting Districts” section. You won’t find your Concord city district there. If that doesn’t amaze you and you’re a hardcore municipal nerd, try looking up your house on the Cabarrus County GIS service and look in the “Voting Information” link…every district BUT the city district is listed. Google and Mamma won’t turn up a district map. You can get just about everything you’d ever want to know about the city, county, elected officials, etc…except this little piece of information.

I’d bet about 1 to 5% of the city’s residents could tell you what district they are in. For the City County members, I’d love to give the same challenge that Concord High School’s Lane Stallings would give her geography students. She’d have them draw the US relative to our neighbors. I’d love to see how many of the City Council members could draw their own districts.

Look, I’m not complaining about the folks that are there. I think they’ve been doing a good enough job. All I’m saying is that EVERY elected official should have to sit in the hot seat - engaging in a lively, informed debates and be compelled to reach out to all the voters to secure the privilege of service as an elected official.