There are 4 vacancies to be filled for Members of the Roanoke City Council.
For those who are used to voting the Party line (all R or all D) this will not be an option this year. The main question on the ballot is about the Members of the City Council. Some digging is required to discover their Party affiliations. However, about all of them have their own websites.
I always have to have a “why” for writing a political article, a purpose. Local leaders usually can’t quit their day job because the positions they’re running for aren’t always full time. People who are willing to do something only because they love it, with or without great pay, are dear to my spirit.
I woke up deep in the night praying for our city council elections Tuesday. There’s like 10 seats, and 4 of them are up for election this year. These are the hardworking citizens who make it happen locally, against the odds!
Mat Kearney – Visualizer CLICK
Roanoke current City Council
- Sherman P. Lea, Sr.
- Patricia White Boyd
- William D. Bestpitch
- Joseph L. Cobb
- Stephanie Moon Reynolds
- Anita J. Price
- Vivian Sanchez Jones
the Ballot for Members of the City Council
We will be able to vote for no more than 3. Here are some brief facts I found, first impressions per se.
Joseph L. “Joe” Cobb
He is the seated Vice Mayor, now running for re-election to the City Council. He is a graduate of Perkins School of Theology, a part of Southern Methodist University.
Vivian Y. Sanchez Jones
She is involved with Catholic Charities. When I was in Michigan I was in dialogue with Catholic Charities and visited their locations, although some of their VIPs commute all over the state. I was beginning to think, “I could really work with these people!” Vivian is running for re-election on the City Council as well as Joe Cobb.
Peter J. Volosin
Peter is a newbie who states, “the economic landscape has shifted,” on his site. He is younger than most, at least from appearance. Volosin may have a few good years ahead of him.
He hails from Roanoke, but also went to the Ivy League schools of Brown University and Georgetown University, where Patrick Ewing led the charge on the basketball court not too very long ago.
It would be interesting to see what someone who went to gateway schools in the Ivy League would actually have to bring back to Roanoke, since Peter Volosin has chosen to do so.
O. Dalton Baugess
First impressions tell me his critiques of the city are a little critical. The campaign is a valid way to campaign.
Paraphrase: “I’m not going to tell you what it IS. I’m just going to tell you what it’s NOT going to be if I’m elected for office.”
He is a Firefighter, so he does have his ear to the rail in a manner of speaking
Nicholas S. “Nick” Hagen
He is a property developer which is good in many ways for city planning.
Nick is also a Cannabis Attorney.
Maynard L. Keller, Jr.
He is one of the only 2 Republicans on the ticket, and it has been way too long since the Republicans have had more than 1 candidate in Roanoke.
Maynard is a Christian and has taught at Valley Christian School. Do his Republican, much less his Christian views, deserve the privilege to influence Roanoke?
Jamaal L. Jackson
He seems to be running primarily on the platform of being an Episcopal Bishop.
I do not know whether he is traditional American Episcopal, the unfortunate step-daughter of the Anglicans who opened the door for all sexual orientations to try to bring the church into the 21st Century. There are other official Anglican Missions to America since then to recover those with a more conservative, Biblical interpretation (a traditional Anglican Mission; a Mission to America from Africa; and a cluster of churches forming a Mission in the PacNW from one of the higher ups in the Vineyard Church, Canada).
Once again, I know not what Episcopal affiliation Jamaal has.
Preston K. Tyler
He is Independent, a Baptist Pastor.
Preston also boasts 25 years in the public sector with Kroger.
David A. Bowers
His name may be easily recognizable. He is the former Mayor and is a Democrat.
Temporary Members of the City Council
Vote for 1 only who will temporarily serve until December 31, 2024. Neither one have sat on the City Council before to the best of my knowledge. I can offer party lines. As I state above, there are only two Republican Candidates. The rest of the pack is divided between Democrats and a decent showing of Independents this year.
- Luke W. Priddy: He is a Democrat.
- M.E. “Peg” McGwire: She is a Republican.
A note on diversity and inclusion
Historically, Roanoke seems to have overcome the barriers caused by racial issues, an excellent accomplishment. For so many higher level officials in the region to be people of various nationalities is not always so easy to come by.
However, there are 2 women on the ticket this year.
In my fellowship, the Pentecostal Church of God, women were granted free reign in our world assembly in 2019. Basically, a woman can serve in the top positions in our worldwide organization. Our General Secretary, Chair of the Finance Committee, and General Bishop can all be women; no small decision ratified by a vote of the assembly with representatives from all over the world; and beyond Ministers, up to 2 Delegates from each local congregation. Basically, although perhaps not a “Sovereign” like the Pope, our next “Pope” could be a woman. When the decision was made, I was elated and thought, “I could really continue working with these guys and gals.”
All things being equal…?
There are times when truly all things are considered equal, and then there are other times.
A political platform is made up of planks. A plank is the view of the Candidate/Party on a particular issue, an issue the Candidate/Party deems important for the future of society.
However, there is a scourge in the times. I truly stand against moral relativism.
This is beyond the beginnings of Postmodernity and Deconstructionism (which officially began with the storming of the Bastille in France, a true and necessary movement).
No, this philosophical construct of moral relativism goes too far, in effect stating there is a need to deconstruct and relegate every major decision to the local pub or microbrewery, and then the locals win every time.
I have nothing against the pub. It’s actually family friendly in ye ‘ole Europe, but I do take issue with this spin off of Postmodernity.
It’s relativism.
Paraphrase: “It doesn’t matter then what we reconstruct. One word can have multiple meanings, depending on the locals, and it could have no meaning. Moral relativism gives us free license to defend any and every position, and the political tolerance movements of yesteryear set up the stage.”
Elected officials represent the will of the people, not the other way around.
A candidate steeped in the off-postmodern philosophical construct of moral relativism operates however his/her subgroup operates, regardless of religious and even political affiliations at times.
For the record, this has never really been the case with Independents, who are sold out on some issues more than others.
This is simply an afterword.
I found nothing to hint at moral relativism among the current candidates for Members of City Council.
I’m a little concerned about the trajectories of education in some states these days though, especially what is permissible without parental consent.
My only injunction is take a look at your current Members and what the candidates for membership are projecting.
The economic landscape is also a rallying cry in America right now, and the landscape may very well be shifting.
In Roanoke however, is the economic landscape shifting toward Ivy League schools like Brown and Georgetown?
Or is it shifting toward other forms of politics, or possibly toward moral relativism?
What do the candidates for Members of Roanoke City Council project?
Some famous leader of a mega-church (at least 40,000) once said something like every wind of doctrine can blow us about on the waves if we’re not careful.
You know your Candidates for Members of City Council better than I do.
You can consider this a Public Service Announcement. I call it a burden for those who accept the “call” to the public office, who take up the office to do battle for us in the old trenches.
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