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The Reston Way
Posted by: Rod ()
Date: January 05, 2008 12:49PM

I was disappointed in Delegate Plums disregard of 600 registered voters who wished Reston to have to have the Democratic right to vote on their local form of government two years ago. I am even more disappointed in his refusal to take the desire for 3700 registered voters to be able to vote on the form their local government takes. I think his suggestion to ignore the desires of these citizens who signed the petition and instead to seek the opinion of various local boards is undemocratic but it's I think if you think about it the Reston way.

For example a Reston Community Center board member is elected by usually a few hundred people who vote in the preference poll. In the last election 262 people voted in the preference pol that elected the last board members for the board of governors. Why are the opinion of a RCC board member that is elected by 262 people valid and a petition with 3700 registered voters not? I suggest that 262 people are not a valid representation of Reston and to consider their opinion over the affirmations of the 3700 registered citizens seems undemocratic.

The Reston Community Center was a organization formed to give Reston a sophisticated community center at great expense. It's really a county facility bought and paid for by the people of Reston. Other parts of the county have community centers but most pay less then do the residents of the fifth tax district. No one in the general public has ever made a suggestion in the running of the center that I have ever learned of. Only board members do. Once I went to a meeting of the board and they were shocked that someone had come to view thier goings on. They later went into executive session to exclude the possibility that someone from the general public would learn what they were doing.

The Reston Chamber of Commerce consists of 700 members many of whom don't even live in Restonbut many own the tall buildings here. Currently there is no tax on the tall buildings that surround Reston that go to the people who live in Reston. Twice as many people who work in Reston then live here. 700 people on the Chamber of Commerce are not representative of the 60,000 people who live here. Further it is just not in thier interest as is the case of many of the boards for a more democratic form of goverment.

The Reston Interfaith is a noble organization but is set up to help those in need. It is not set up to democratically represent the people of Reston. I don't think they have rendered a opinion as to whether the people of Reston should be allowed to vote on their choice of governance.

And yes you could add the Reston Citizens Association to the list of organizations that are undemocratic in that their election is not in any way representative of the people of Reston. Anyone can vote for them if they want to. Usually about a dozen or so do.

About the only organization that can claim to represent the people of Reston is the Reston Association which can contact it's members by mail and use it's funds to advocate. The RCC cannot contact citizens by mail by Fairfax County decree. There is widespread dissatisfaction with the Reston Association. I say this because of my work on a RA focus group in which eight out of eight participants gave their views on the Reston Association as extremely negative. It would be against the interests of the RA to let the people vote on anything that would give less power. The RA is apt to come up on mostly it's own on major decisoins on what sort of rebuilding to do. The new documents allow less particiapation on major decisions from 30% to 20%.

It's true that Delegate Plum is elected democratically but dose not himself seem to believe in the democratic right of citizens to vote on their governance. I guess he can do what he wants but I will think of him as undemocratic and unwilling to do the will of his constituents.

Reston, it occurs to me is not about freedom. It dose not proclaim itself free but instead is sophisticated. The sophisticated come here after studying in college. There are strict rules made 40 years ago when Reston was formed to keep the unsophisticated out or at least in line and most here like it that way or do until they get bit by it. There was wide spread dissatisfaction with Cathy Hudgins because everyone said she did not listen to people. They found a retired Ambassador to run against her but Hudgins won anyway. It doesn't matter if elected officials listens to anyone the important thing is that they be sophisticated.

Plum doesn't listen to the people but instead will listen to the various boards. Only those equally sophisticated opinion matters and sit at his table. If Plum did take the town issue to the legislature and the people voted to become a town maybe they would want someone like Plum or Cathy to lead them. Some one sophisticated who doesn't listen to people.

The Reston Association hired people to listen to people in the focus group I participated in. They did not themselves listen to people which is kind of the Reston way.

For the most part nobody really wants to be in the Reston legal framwork. The people in the outlying districts of Reston who for years and years had to pay to support the Community Center finally did get out by their united efforts. There are various districts inside Reston, like the Town Center Condominion Association that are not a part of Reston don't have to now pay association dues and they are not quiet about saying they never want to be a part of any town that might be formed. Many sign the town petition and are really thinking ,"hey man can we get out of this whole mess?" It's as if we want to be sophisticated but don't want the constraints and expenses associated with sophistication.

Many people who live here are just plain disgusted with it all and don't vote or pay attention to any of it, but may just occasionally want to spout off about it. The actual number of voters in a local election is always very low. It's as if they are just too busy or fear getting involved and trying to deal with it all would maybe drive them crazy. They just chuck it all in the trash when it comes in the mail. The others the elite or think themselves elite are drawn to it all. Everyone sort of gets what they want I guess. Or at least that's the way it seems to me.-Rod



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/08/2008 04:16PM by Rod.

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