Roanoke, Virginia - Government

Government

See also: List of mayors of Roanoke, Virginia

Roanoke has a weak mayor-city manager form of government. The city manager is responsible for the day to day operation of the city's government and has the authority to hire and fire city employees. The mayor has little, if any, executive authority and essentially is the "first among equals" on the city council. The mayor, however, has a bully pulpit as Roanoke media frequently cover the mayor's appearances and statements. The current mayor of Roanoke is David A. Bowers and the current city manager is Christopher P. Morrill. City council has six members, not counting the mayor, all of whom are elected on an at-large basis. A proposal for a ward based council, in which the mayor and vice mayor would continue to be elected at-large, was rejected by Roanoke voters in 1997, but ward system advocates still contend that the at-large system results in a disproportionate number of council members coming from affluent neighborhoods and that electing some or all council members on a ward basis would result in a more equal representation of all areas of the city. The four year terms of city council members are staggered, so there are biannual elections. The candidate who receives the most votes is designated the vice mayor for the following two years.

The city's African-American and professional class voting blocs have made the Democratic Party the city's leading party in recent years.

Independent candidate David A. Bowers, a former Democrat, defeated incumbent Democrat Nelson Harris for Mayor in the May 2008 election with 53% of the vote. In both the 2000 election, Republican Ralph K. Smith and in the 2004 election Nelson Harris won with less than 40% of the vote in competitive three way races.

In the May 2008 council elections, Democrats Court Rosen, Anita Price, and Sherman Lea defeated a slate of loosely allied independent city council candidates including incumbent Brian Wishneff. In the May 2006 council elections, a slate of three former Democrats running on an independent slate backed by Harris defeated the candidates of the Democratic and Republican parties. This election ended the city's long running debate about the fate of Victory Stadium.

Roanoke is represented by two members of the Virginia House of Delegates, Onzlee Ware (D-11th) and William H. Cleaveland (R-17th), and one member of the Virginia Senate, John Edwards (D-21st). Former Roanoke mayor Ralph Smith won the 2007 election in the neighboring 22nd Senate district after defeating incumbent Brandon Bell for the Republican nomination in the primary election and Democrat Michael Breiner in the general election.

The City of Roanoke lies within the 6th Congressional District of Virginia, which also includes Lynchburg and much of the Shenandoah Valley. Current representative Bob Goodlatte resides in Roanoke as have many of those who have held the seat. The 9th Congressional District of Virginia, represented by Morgan Griffith, has traditionally covered southwest Virginia but has expanded into parts of Roanoke County and counties to the north of Roanoke to make up for population losses in the rest of the district. Robert Hurt represents much of the area to south and east of Roanoke, including nearby Franklin County, in the 5th Congressional District of Virginia, which also stretches north to Charlottesville. There is speculation that the lines of the three districts could be significantly redrawn in the next redistricting cycle after the 2010 Census, especially if Democrats gain control of the Virginia General Assembly, to account for rapid growth in the northern parts of the 5th and 6th districts and slower growth in the southern parts of the districts and population loss in much of the 9th.