My latest op-ed piece appeared in The Virginian-Pilot Tuesday. This week’s topic: constitutional offices. I think it is an issue that is ripe for the governor’s reform commission – just as it has been for prior reform commissions. That nothing has been done to seriously address them is a testament to the strength of the lobbying efforts of holders of the offices.
One thing that I found interesting as I reviewed various documents, letters to the editor, and so forth from those who wish to keep all of the constitutional offices in place was the use of part of my favorite Thomas Jefferson quote, the one which graces the box at the top right of my blog.
I know no safe depositary of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves
I think they are missing the most important part:
and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion by education. This is the true corrective of abuses of constitutional power.
The bar for eliminating these offices is far too high. The requirements are:
- A petition, signed by 20% of the number of voters who voted in the last presidential election., with all signatures gathered in 90 days; followed by
- A referendum on the ballot at the next general election; followed by
- A request from the locality for a charter change.
That’s taking it away from the people, leaving us with literally no corrective action should we chose to exercise our discretion. Why isn’t the signature requirement the same as that for removal from office?
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There are some advantages and disadvantages of the printed paper. One of the disadvantages is no hyperlinks 😦 So here are some of the sources that I drew on for the article:
- Kaine’s budget item – In his speech to the money committees about his budget, Kaine proposed turning over the entire cost of operating the Commissioner’s and Treasurer’s offices to the localities, with the exception of the salaries of the two electeds. The line item – 425 – had wording in it which appeared to override the provisions of § 24.2-685.
- Remarks of Gary Clemens, president of the Virginia Association of Local Elected Constitutional Officers (pdf) – Look at his first item.
- A 2010 Senate Finance Committee presentation on constitutional officers (pdf)
- The 1990 JLARC report on Funding of Constitutional Officers (pdf)
- A 2006 JLARC review of outstanding recommendations from prior gubernatorial reform commissions – Wilder’s in 1992, Allen’s in 1994 and Warner’s in 2002 (pdf)
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
Great article!
Thanks!
a lot to digest. But worth the try.
All in all, we need changes. If not changes in the system, changes in the officeholders. I hope whomever runs for Treasurer and Commissioner next, if against the incumbents, is keeping all these articles and blogs for use in the campaign.
One thing that jumped out was that the Commissioner assesses real estate taxes. I was not aware, and should have been. I was under the impression that the Real Estate assessor assesses taxes.
Is that different in different localities?
Yes, it varies by locality. In Norfolk, there is a separate real estate assessor. Not true in all localities.
Makes sense, another way for the city to spend more money.
Though real estate valuation is a specialized process, since our Commish has so much extra time, she could probably handle that 🙂
I like that we have a professional in the real estate assessor’s office. I understand why some of the smaller localities do not, but having served on the Board of Review for Real Estate Assessments, I appreciate the complexity of the job.
Great timely points and well research. Your columns may be enough incentive for me to start subscribing to the VP again.
Go ahead, subscribe 😉 There’s a lot of good stuff in there.
Vivian, another thoughtful and informative op ed piece.Great job. If only the those we elected to manage our public financial resources would pay attention!
Thanks! Let’s hope they do.
Nicely done and right on point. We might also want to look at the terms and compensation of Clerk’s of the Circuit Court. These are vastly out of scale with the actual work they do and are a holdover from the Byrd Machine days when the clerk of the court was the machine’s man in charge of patronage in each locality.
Thanks. Given the financial constraints, it seem the GA should look at everything.
I can speak as a former employee of the Clerk’s office- that office is one of the most efficient offices I have ever step foot in- private OR public sector. Since the current Clerk has been in office, technology has been embraced, customer service is given a high priority and this office operates in a streamlined manner- even though the budget cuts have cut staff and resources.
I am currently an MPA student and have considered using this office as a case study for efficiency and good practices.
Also, considering that the Clerk is indeed an attorney, I beleive the compensation is just.
You have had the benefit of working in one of the most efficient offices in the Commonwealth. I’m not sure that all of them are that way. And unless I’m mistaken, a Clerk of Court is not required to be an attorney. I seem to recall a certain former council member who ran for that office and said member was not an attorney.
you are correct, there is no requirement that the clerk be a an attorney. I wouldn’t think that most of them are.