Richard Schragger, a professor at the University of Virginia School of Law, encourages his students to look at cities differently. He wants them to understand cities beyond the brick-and-mortar — as representations of laws and social context.
He describes how in the 1970s, many white Virginians were concerned about Black constituencies gaining influence in city governments.
“Those kinds of racial concerns do have some impact on what looks like a technical decision about intergovernmental power,” Schragger said.
The primary example Schragger gives is the local controversy over Confederate monuments. Before 2017, Charlottesville city officials weren’t sure they could remove the monuments without state permission, since Virginia abides by Dillon’s Rule. The law states that local governments can only exercise powers granted by the state legislature.
“We have far too many laws that tell local governments what they can’t do than we should,” said Schragger.
He gave examples of other issues that cities might want to pass local ordinances on, including pollutant regulation, anti-discrimination measures, rules about unionization and the minimum wage.
“I would hope that cities in Virginia, like Charlottesville, can gain some power over their own trajectories,” said Schragger. “That’s my wish for the city: some more city power.”
Schragger is a current board member for Charlottesville Tomorrow. These ideas are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of the newsroom or board of directors.
Videography and editing by Zach Keifer. Produced by Atlee Webber.
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