The less things change
There will be little new in city government next year
Very little will change in Harrisonburg as a result of this year's elections. The City Council is likely to have at most one new member; the School Board will have either two or three new members. City Council has four candidates for three slots. School Board has four candidates for three slots. There are no combinations of winners and losers that will significantly change the direction of either body.
Full disclosure: I’m married to Deb, one of the retiring SB members, and I’m supporting the ticket of Tim Howley, Matt Snyder, and Hazzar Pastor Perdomo for School Board. They’re endorsed by the Democratic committee. Incumbent Kaylene Seigle is endorsed by the Republican committee.
By law, school board candidates can only be placed on the ballot by petition. What that means is that parties cannot nominate candidates, but can endorse them once they get the required 125 signatures.
At least two of the three endorsed by the Dems will win, which suggests, if not guarantees, little change in school policies.
Deb and Tom Domonoske are leaving the board, both choosing not to run for reelection. Tom has filled two unexpired terms on the board, once when Dany Fleming was chased off the board, and the second time when Nick Swayne took a job as a college president in Idaho. Deb has served two terms on Planning Commission in addition to two terms on School Board. She’s the only person I know of who’s chaired both the Planning Commission and the School Board, and the only one who’s served four terms anywhere. January 1, 2025, begins the first year this century that neither Deb nor I will serve as a party or city official.
Worth noting, Deb and Tom for the last year have worked extensively on preparing a collective bargaining resolution in case HEA or some other body wants to be elected to represent the city’s teachers and school employees. Andy Kohen also contributed heavily to that. City Council, on the other hand, listened to a short presentation from the city attorney before deciding it would be too hard to prepare a similar resolution for the city’s first responders. Granted the School Board had the advantage of two econ profs and a lawyer, which is more expertise than the council has on any topic.
One thing will change regardless of the election outcome. A majority of School Board members will have children in the city schools. I’m not sure if it’s the first time that’s happened, but it’s been a while.
On the City Council side of the ballot, Deanna Reed is likely to win reelection. She’s a symbolic and inspirational figure, and hasn’t done anything to anger anyone. The question is whether Javier Calleja, an independent endorsed by the Republican committee, can pick off one of the other two Democratic nominees, Laura Dent or Nasser Alsaadun. Dent may have lost some support with her credulous backing of the Bluestone Town Center, but not enough to cost her a second place finish in June’s Democratic Primary. Alsaadun’s newcomer status didn’t keep him from defeating a sitting council member and a recent state Senate nominee in that primary. Full disclosure again, I’ve given money and statistical assistance to Nasser For Harrisonburg.
Both newcomers might win, but it seems more likely that one of them will take the seat left open by Chris Jones’s primary loss in June. If both win, the three leftist members, Dent, Fleming, and Robinson, would no longer have a majority, but that seems unlikely.
The question then will be what decisions city voters and potential candidates make between now and 2026, when Fleming and Robinson are up for reelection. With local journalism withering, people have less information about what the city government is doing, but tax bills, drought warnings, and rising rents can let us know if things aren’t being run well. The gutting of the Daily News-Record means the paper is fielding barely a quarter of the number of reporters it had 25 years ago. With the lack of detail and the lack of institutional knowledge among those covering city actions, there exists more a vague disquiet than any impetus for change. There’s a general feeling that the city is not moving in the right direction, but it’s hard to throw the bastards out when you’re not really sure who they are.