The above was the title of an article published in Sunday’s Virginian Pilot which was written by fellow HRCCE board member Roger Richman. (Since the Pilot changed its online provider, links to the articles which only appear in the printed paper are harder to get, so here is a pdf.) Interestingly enough, the Pilot excerpted my post on the facing page.
From Richman’s piece:
A telling fact, however, is common to all these interlocal and regional agreements: They are not examples of strong democracy; they are managerial initiatives, and though they may be businesslike, they are essentially elitist and nondemocratic.
[…]
Our current system for dealing with matters requiring tough decisions is wholly inadequate to the number and nature of the issues of regional consequence facing us . There are many reasons for this, but one is paramount: We don’t have a regional citizenry. We are citizens of our cities and counties, but we are not yet citizens of our region. Our system denies us the opportunity to fully participate as citizens in regional decision-making. The lack of a regional constituency allows narrow special interests to dominate and delay regional decision-making.
“[E]litist and nondemocratic.”
“[O]ur system denies us the opportunity to fully participate as citizens.
Pretty much the same thing I said. Does anyone think it is coincidence that folks are independently coming to the same conclusions?
An attitude of contempt. For us as citizens and for our “democracy.”
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
Richman is essentially right. The only way we’re going to have a democratic regionalism is to consolidate the cities, with the consolidation agreement containing a residents bill of rights.
That’s why I believe our primary midterm regional goal should be consolidating the five cities of South Hampton Roads.
In the short term, we should be building a regional political organziation to lay the groundwork for winning the requisite referendum campaign.
I have my hands full trying just to keep the local government honest. There is pushback on FOIA, pushback on the direction this county goes in in terms of what kinds of businesses to attract. Pushback when I ask them repeatedly to follow the law.
I know what the root of this problem is. It is the Dillon Rule, which, if overturned would allow Home Rule in Virginia as a whole. However, in an ironic twist, we would also need to ask the GA for permission to do that, and it removes the concentration of power in place right now in that very body.
I wish we had enough people of conscience in the General Assembly, because we would already have an amendment to vote on to get rid of this abomination.
The fact that my county needs to ask the General Assembly for permission for almost everything or to do anything, encourages them to find other, less open ways of doing business. It encourages illegality, when a locality is required to be sneaky rather than smart about its governance.