Trust for City Leaders Missing at the Beach Robert M. Dyer Assistant Professor Robertson School of Government Virginia Beach City Council Member

Frequently I hear from residents that “Council just doesn’t listen or care.” We as leaders must be sensitive to these perceptions and vigorously rectify them.
There are many positive things about living in Virginia Beach. We are indeed “a community for a life-time.” However, of late I am deeply concerned about many of the attitudes and perceptions of our citizens toward their government. Through numerous interactions, both with ordinary citizens and community activists, I am finding common threads of fear, apathy and mistrust permeating throughout the city.
I believe creating an ethics commission could help bolster trust between citizens and city leaders.
Virginia Beach is a city in transition. We are rapidly losing our identity as a tourist/agricultural bedroom community, evolving into a big city with big city challenges. Shortly we will address major issues such as residential tax relief, affordable housing, road congestion, encroachment on NAS Oceana and the upcoming budget, to name a few. The trust of the community is essential as we go through this process.
As government grows in complexity, so does the potential of distrust between government and the citizens. The purpose of government is to protect the interest of the citizens by providing reliable core services and being good stewards of the people’s money.
As we evaluate putting considerable resources into the convention business, we must also weigh other needs in our great city. We cannot afford to neglect the residents of Level Green, College Park, Sherry Park and numerous other areas where infrastructure needs have long been on the back burner. We have a moral obligation to invest in our residents throughout the community. We must recognize that a large portion of our economic viability comes from the families, businesses and restaurants far from Atlantic Avenue.
As elected officials we are held to a high standard of ethics and morality. A major problem in ethics occurs when officials champion the projects of friends and business associates. The function of government is not to achieve riches for ourselves or our friends.
Over a number of decades the influence of special interest groups superseded common sense, allowing Oceana to become the most encroached upon air facility in the country. In the near future, City Council will have the opportunity to right this wrong. Oceana is not only a vital part of our economy, but necessary to national defense and homeland security. We must do the right thing in this regard, thinking also of the health and safety of our citizens.
We must work to improve the trust factor among citizens and government. Establishing an ethics commission to evaluate, oversee and ensure ethical compliance might go a long way to satisfy the needs of the city. Former Attorney General Jerry Kilgore is making ethical conduct of elected officials a focal point of his campaign for governor; we on the local level must also give our constituents the same assurances that we are acting always in their best interests.
The most important component of restoring trust in government lies in the hands of our citizens. In the 2005 election only 16.6 percent of registered voters participated. This is unacceptable.
I invite all citizens of Virginia Beach to become an active participant in local government. Attend council meetings, town hall and other public forums, write, e-mail or call with your thoughts and opinions to help craft solutions. Form a relationship with your city leaders to become a partner in the decision-making process.
Then, and only then, can we begin to build the bridge of trust between us to make Virginia Beach a better city for all of the people.

About the Author:
Robert M. “Bob” Dyer represents the Centerville District on the Virginia Beach City Council.