Tuesday, November 8, 2011 will be an historic date for Christiansburg.
This will be the first time town elections are held in November, instead of May. This is due to citizen action (and Council inaction).
Regardless of the growth seen in Christiansburg over the past one or two decades (which has driven population numbers of entire NRV region), past voter turn out has been dismal, at best.
After Richard Ballengee first assumed the office of mayor and with his initiation, Council adopted a "Code of Ethics" -- which was difficult to find in a search of the town's web site. This presumably provided some clarification about Council's intention about conflicts of interest, beyond state statutes.
Candidate disclosures -- financial,
and so forth -- is also defined by State Code; however that "requirement" is based upon population numbers. Former Councilwoman Ann Carter initiated efforts to proactively adopt such measures (with past personal experience as impetus) one year ago.
Christiansburg has three Council seats on the ballot, and three incumbents running. Plus two newcomers.
Beyond a new election date, Code of Ethics and campaign disclosure reporting requirements (including in-kind support), it is notable that Town Council races are now seeing "campaign managers" in the picture.
As recently as 2006, new candidates who didn't rise up from within the Planning Commission were nearly unheard of.
Bottom line: Be well informed, meaning multiple, verifiable sources. Failing to do so can affect your quality of life, personal and real property values, and tax rates (over and above what is paid for county services).
A candidate forum will be held Thursday, Oct. 13th at the Town Hall. Plan to attend, or watch the video recording prior to voting November 8th.