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WVW vote reveals big flaw in process MARK GUYDISH OPINION

Tuesday November 03, 2009 | 12:00 AM

Wyoming Valley West School District voters in region 6 (Kingston) face a conundrum today, the result of a state law that lets school board candidates run on both party tickets. It is an object lesson on how the election system can defeat itself with a little help from voter apathy and inertia.

In a nutshell: Vote for the only candidate on the ballot and risk scuttling democracy, or don’t vote for the only candidate on the ballot and risk scuttling democracy.

Allen Bellas is the lone name on both the Democratic and Republican tickets in region 6. He was the lone candidate on both tickets in the primary. Voters didn’t have a choice (other than write-ins) then, they don’t have a choice now. The problem: Barring some bizarre legal ruling, Bellas can’t fill the seat if he wins.

Bellas agreed to plead guilty to taking a bribe in his capacity as Luzerne County Redevelopment Authority executive director. The charges had nothing to do with school board business; Wyoming Valley West remains clear of corruption allegations. But as part of the plea agreement, he had to resign from both the LCRA and WVW, which he did.

Thus the conundrum. In my book, Bellas does not deserve to get a single vote. His crime may be unrelated to the school board. His performance on the board may have been exemplary (he always seemed forthcoming in my dealings with him, with taxpayer interests at heart). But now he has been forced to resign in disgrace, awaiting the chance to say “guilty, your honor” in exchange for jail time. A man in that position should receive no votes.

Except that there’s no alternative beyond write-ins, and no one has launched a credible write-in campaign. So there are two main scenarios:

1) People re-elect Bellas, which would mean voters effectively picked no one. Unless a judge or other higher authority says Bellas can hold the seat after being forced to resign, the eight remaining school board members – not the voters – would get to pick his replacement. Not the most democratic outcome.

2) Few vote for Bellas, making it possible for a write-in candidate to take the seat with a minority of votes. Again, not the most democratic outcome.

What would be more democratic?

Personally, I’d rather see today’s election become a free-for-all among numerous write-in candidates than see Bellas re-elected on the heels of his plea agreement. A massive surge of write-ins would show people we’re paying attention and not simply voting for the name on the ballot, or voting straight party. Such an outcome strikes me as democracy in action, however flawed.

But one could make an effective argument that a vote for Bellas also is thoroughly democratic, since his replacement would then be selected by the eight other board members who were elected by voter majority and thus –presumably – reflect majority will.

If the state did not allow school board candidates to run on both tickets maybe there’d still be at least one viable candidate on the ballot. Or perhaps we should go the other extreme, and drop the school board primary completely, turning the general election into a wide-open, non-partisan affair – as proposed by one senator. Either way, this quandary shows a serious fly in the ointment.

Democracy is surely the best form of government invented so far, but this shortcoming proves that “best” doesn’t mean it can’t be improved.

About the Author

Mark Guydish covers education for the Times Leader. Reach him at (570) 970-7161 or mguydish@timesleader.com.

A West Hazleton native, I worked as a service technician repairing electronic mailing and shipping systems, a bike shop owner and an Emergency Medical Technician (among other jobs) before landing a reporter job at the Times Leader Hazleton Bureau in 1995. I started by covering primarily politics in Hazleton City and outlying municipalities, eventually became "social issues" team leader in the Wilkes-Barre office with the accent on education, and headed the Hazleton Bureau for a spell before returning to full-time reporting, my preferred position. I'm an avid cyclist and rode across the country in 1990, a trip of more than 5,000 miles from New Jersey to Seattle and down the coast to San Francisco. Years in the Boy Scouts made me a life long backpacker and camper, and I've yet to find a better way to enjoy the quiet lure of winter snow than cross country skiing.

Mark also writes a regular blog for timesleader.com.