THE PUBLIC MIND: ZONE REPRESENTATION IS WHAT CITY NEEDS

To the Editor:

Thomas Jefferson held that man made government, and the purpose of government is to secure inalienable rights of "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, that the government derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, that man have a right to alter, or abolish government and to institute new governments." After more than two hundred years, these principles are as valid as when first announced in the Declaration of Independence.

Man is not perfect, but Thomas Jefferson had a deep faith in the common man. His life's labor was to create the social and economic conditions in which man might develop to the limit of his abilities.

Thomas Jefferson would, I think, endorse a change in one part of our City Charter, that of elections to the City Council by equal representation within the City.

What are we looking at in the Zone representation? Let us elect six council members to be representative of six equally populated Zones.

The point is, your Zone would have a voice in expressing concerns of your area of the City. The person elected from your Zone would be in daily contact with the people, not as a visitor a few times a year, but as a neighbor living there. Neighbor's selecting a neighbor to represent them, someone you could see often and talk with in comfort.

Zone representation will eliminate social and economic cliques that control City Government now and allow a broader base of representation to solve the City's Problems.

Election of the City's Council by Zone representation will promote more voter participation in city government elections, a cry often heard from politicians that we are looking for citizen involvement. Zone representation for the City Council will be campaigned within the Zone area, perhaps even door to door. This is a strong benefit, to meet the candidate one on one, instead of through expensive newspaper ads, radio, billboards, and mass mailings. When was the last time you as a Citizen of Cape Girardeau met and talked with one of your six Council representatives? We will avoid faceless name recognition in campaigning for the City Council, for a localized level of personal contact.

Cape Girardeau is large enough that there is a need for more understanding of area problems in certain sections of the City; river conditions affecting the Red Star District, flash flooding on the West side, and worn conditions of sewer lines in the older sections of the City. What may be perceived by one faction in the South End of the City could be perceived differently from another end of the City, and there would be more discussions and accountability with Zone representation.

Zone representation would not be division, but cooperation by giving the City's Council more awareness of what the problems are in the entire City.

At-large representation tends to force candidates for the City's Council to ignore smaller voting areas. For the Citizens in their sections of our City, one-man, one-vote does not apply. The negation of these voters over the years is the prime reason for low voter turnout at election time. They think their vote would not change the way the City's Government is being handled.

Think, if our State representative were elected at-large in this way, all large cities such as Kansas City and St. Louis would have control of all of the States government and its Funds, not just over a large part of the Education and Highway Funds.

Zone representation will not promote the working of deals; corruption will not rule; party bosses will not take over, because there will be better communication and accountability to a smaller bloc of voters.

If it is representation of the people, by the people that we want, then an equal voice for all by Zone representation is what we need.

Lawrence L. Godfrey

Cape Girardeau