Political activity reaches a frenzy during an election cycle. We’re all bombarded by advertisements – on TV, through email, in our newsfeeds, and even in the games we play on our phones. Those advertisements cease once the election is over – but as this small article in today’s Virginia Gazette reminds us, the real work of government goes on outside of election cycles.
Two members were chosen to serve on Williamsburg’s City Council yesterday, but you wouldn’t know it from this article. At a City Council meeting on Monday, November 7, the city council was presented with the city’s two-year plan, including the construction of a regional sports arena. One of the members of the City Council, Ted Maslin, is quoted in the article. However, in yesterday’s election, Maslin lost his bid for re-election. The article says that the council will vote on the plan at a meeting on Thursday (tomorrow); Maslin will be there, but he won’t be on the council to implement the plan. Instead, my friend Stacy Kern-Scheerer won her race for the council, and she is not in favor of the sports arena. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
The article also focuses on the lack of affordable housing in Williamsburg. The economy in our area is driven by tourism, which requires a lot of people who are willing to work in the hospitality sector. This includes many low-paying jobs in restaurants and hotels. However, our community does not provide many low-cost housing options for workers in this sector; neither do we have good public transportation that would allow people to live in nearby rural areas (where costs are lower). The City Council is exploring ways of meeting this need, including converting hotel rooms (we have too many of them) to affordable housing units.
Stacy is a professor at William and Mary’s Law School, and she comes to the council with a deep commitment to equity and social justice. She won the greatest number of votes in yesterday’s race, which featured five people (including a couple of incumbents) running for two seats. She is well-connected to students at William and Mary and will be instrumental in ensuring their voices are heard in City Council debates.
Races like this don’t make a lot of noise. They are not featured on Cable news. Steve Kornacki doesn’t manipulate these numbers on his magic board. But this is where governance happens. People sometimes confuse governance with politics. They are connected, but they are not the same thing.
Excellent commentary, Karen, especially the part about your friend and how we confuse governance with politics.