After the Roanoke City voters in the Democrats primary election on August 4, gave their votes to the new candidates for the City Council, Raekwon Moore and Danny Clawson, it showed that the citizens of Roanoke can change the direction of the City Council and decide whom they can send to the Municipal building.
Apparently, some of the City Council members and Mayor Joe Cobb have been walking many steps away from the people of Roanoke without considering their concerns and the ongoing issues of the City. Seemingly, people have fed up with some of the Roanoke City Council members as they gave new faces a chance with the hope for a better service in the City.
While it was a happy moment for Moore and Clawson in their victory, the challenge is still ahead of them, as they have to prepare for the general election on November 3. However, if Moore and Clawson claim the victory in the general election, which is very likely, the major challenge will begin with a high expectation from the voters.
Understanding the needs of the City and working for the benefit of people is the responsibility that many of the current Council members have ignored. Regardless of the party’s affiliation, the Council members have a duty to listen and serve the people of Roanoke. This is what missing with the majority of the Council members.
People of Roanoke should not forget that the majority of City Council members, including Mayor Cobb, voted to cut funds from the Roanoke City Public Schools, which mainly affects the minority students in Roanoke. Also, people should not forget the installation of the Flock Safety’s Raven acoustic gunshot detectors (AGD), which was intended to detect gunshots in the City but became a privacy concern by people.
Although people expressed an immense opposition to such cameras and there was limited evidence of their effectiveness, 41 cameras out of 75 were installed but 30 of them were in the wrong locations.
However, after Roanoke’s lawmakers, including Senator David Suetterlein and Delegate Sam Rasoul opposed the cameras, and while the City has already paid a little over $54.000, the installation failed, the City Council decided to remove them. Obviously, this complete mismanagement by the Roanoke City Council members and the Mayor passed by with no one was being held responsible.
Moore and Clawson will have a journey in Roanoke City Council as they are a new hope for people, and they should remember that the voters empower the elected officials. After all, as the struggles in Roanoke continue, people will remain the soul of the City.
