Leadership and politics expert Thad Williamson comments in Feb. 11 Michael Paul Williams column.
Does the oath of office for a Henrico County supervisor include an exchange of rings and the vow “Till death do us part”?
The five supervisors who make up the Henrico board appear to be partners in a political matrimony that no one dares rip asunder. How else do we explain their tenure as Virginia’s longest-sitting board?
All five are seeking re-election in November. “Until somebody challenges them, they’re going to keep on running and keep on winning,” said Thad Williamson, assistant professor at the University of Richmond’s Jepson School of Leadership Studies. “But you would think with the change in demographics of the county, there would inevitably be some pressure to have a challenge to the status quo.”
Since 1996, the five current board members have presided over a county whose increasingly diverse population is now 30 percent black, 7 percent Asian and 5 percent Hispanic.
Nelson Wikstrom, in his book “County Manager Government in Henrico, Virginia,” notes that of the 36 individuals elected to the board since Henrico implemented that form of government in 1934, only two €” current board members Patricia O’Bannon and Frank Thornton €” have not been white males.
Board members range in age from 60 (O’Bannon) to 79 (David Kaechele). Jim Donati and Dick Glover are also seeking re-election.
“Eventually there will be a generational makeover €” there has to be,” Williamson said. “It would probably be healthy for Henrico County if somebody would put up a challenge.”
Henrico €” one of the first in the nation to adopt the county manager form of government €” has a long-held reputation for good management and high quality of life.
The board’s unchanging composition could reflect satisfaction, complacency or inertia. The steady hand of experience is good during these hard times. But political entrenchment is never entirely healthy. Democracy flourishes when watered by the challenge of competition, and wilts without vigorous debate and fresh ideas.
Henrico is not without its issues. The U.S. Education Department is examining whether the county’s school district €” which is majority-minority €” discriminates against black students. The county is also growing more urban. Within a couple of decades, its demographics might mirror Richmond’s, Williamson said. “The question is whether that will create a convergence of interests as well.”
Henrico was projected to have a population of 291,485 by 2015, Wikstrom, a professor of political science and public administration at Virginia Commonwealth University, noted in his 2003 book. But Henrico now has more than 306,000 residents, according to the census.
Wikstrom wrote back then that Henrico would be severely challenged to provide the leadership and funding “to promote social equity” and provide high-quality services “to its burgeoning and increasingly diverse ethnic population.”
