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Coalition on Illegal Aliens struggles to get organized Date published: 11/30/2007
BY DONNIE JOHNSTON
Yesterday's organizational meeting of the Coalition on Illegal Aliens turned out to be anything but organized. Two jurisdictions tried to push legislative agendas, representatives had a hard time deciding who could or could not vote at future meetings and at times the meeting turned into a gripe session for private citizens. At one point during the meeting in Culpeper, Spotsylvania County Administrator Randy Wheeler leaned back in his chair and admitted, "I am so confused." Somehow, amid the confusion and the griping, the coalition managed to elect Herndon Mayor Stephen DeBenedittis as its chairman and Shenandoah County Supervisor Dick Neese as its vice chairman. The group decided to organize three committees to deal with safety, health and documentation issues. Wheeler, Culpeper Supervisor Larry Aylor and Culpeper town police Chief Scott Barlow were chosen to chair them. The coalition also voted to allow each jurisdiction a maximum of three representatives--two elected officials and one appointee. No one was certain, however, what "appointed" meant. "I'm talking about appointed members of [each jurisdiction's] staff," said Wheeler. Culpeper Mayor Pranas Rimeikis, who was representing the Virginia Commission on Immigration, agreed. But Rappahannock County Commonwealth's Attorney Peter Luke said his county had a small staff and that several private citizens had volunteered to serve on the coalition. Bath County Administrator Bonnie Johnson echoed those sentiments, saying her supervisors had appointed her and a private citizen (who was injured in a horse accident and couldn't attend) to represent them. Several of those present--both coalition members and private citizens--suggested that private citizens be allowed to represent their jurisdictions and, when necessary, cast the one vote each jurisdiction will have. Private citizen Jerry Beckett was against allowing leaving all the decisions up to elected officials. "The elected officials haven't been listening to us," Beckett said. "They're not doing their job. Where is the citizen?" And Alicia Payne, a private citizen representing Orange County, said, "So many of our [Orange County] elected officials prefer to have their heads stuck in the sand." But both Luke and Loudoun County Supervisor Bruce Tulloch informed the group that, by Virginia law, supervisors cannot cast their vote by proxy.
Date published: 11/30/2007
Private citizen represents Orange? She would have had to have been appointed that those elected officials that she says have their heads in the sand. Surely there is a mistake here. Why are there official representatives if any old person who shows up can speak whenever they want to. Sounds like Robert's rules need to be used.
if elected officials arent listenting to the public... abd the public wants a vote on the issue ... how do we determine which public should speak for the right group ?... certainly, no one person have the same exact sentimwents on this issue as the next one... so how can a citizen vote for the public accurately ?... is the citizen voting just as the same as the elected official ?? ... ""Jerry Beckett was against allowing leaving all the decisions up to elected officials"" Beckett need a reality check cos subbing one same thing for another and calling it something else doesnt create any more validity than before. ... . . the easiest and quickest way to solve this is to put up a Referendum and let the public vote on it... those who choose to vote cares, and want change, those who didnt/dont, never mattered anyways. ... I'm sure the elected officials can do this much, right ?
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