The Virginian-Pilot
©
HAMPTON
Disgraceful. Vindictive. Mean-spirited. An abomination. Insulting and possibly illegal.
Those were a few of the words hurled at a group of state lawmakers Thursday night by some 30 Hampton Roads residents stirred to anger by proposed new boundary lines for state legislative districts.
Most of the irate comments came from residents of Virginia Beach and Chesapeake, who said the proposed district maps would dilute their cities' clout in Richmond.
The public hearing at Hampton University was the last chance for local residents to weigh in on the new maps before the General Assembly reconvenes Wednesday. The lawmakers are expected to vote within days on the redistricting plans, reflecting 2010 census data, unveiled this week by House and Senate committees.
Nearly 200 people jammed the room, one of the larger crowds since lawmakers began taking public input on redistricting six months ago. Much of the outrage focused on the Democrat-controlled Senate's plan to throw two Republican senators from Virginia Beach, Jeff McWaters and Frank Wagner, into a single district.
"Did you guys wake up and have a bowl of crack for breakfast?" asked Jimmy Frost of Virginia Beach. "If you strip a senator from us, we're going to remember in November."
He and others, including representatives of the Beach City Council and School Board, called it unconscionable that the state's largest city - with a population big enough to warrant two and a fraction senators - would be left with just one Senate district totally contained within the city.
"It pains us to see the dismemberment and disenfranchisement of the city of Virginia Beach," said Gary Byler, chairman of the 2nd District Republican Committee.
The Senate plan also drew fire from Chesapeake residents and officials who complained that Republican Sen. Harry Blevins' district would be elongated to draw in large chunks of Virginia Beach.
"There's no good reason this should happen to our resident senator," Chesapeake City Councilwoman Debbie Ritter said. "Please, do not take our city and throw us into the trash heap."
Pete Burkhimer, Chesapeake Republican chairman, called Blevins' proposed district, which snakes in a great semicircle from the Dismal Swamp to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, "absurd on its face."
One of the most plaintive pleas came from Ashley Chiera, a Christopher Newport University student who participated in a competition among state universities to draw model district maps. The students were told to ignore considerations of partisanship and incumbent protection.
"I don't want my work to go unnoticed," Chiera said, referring to the student maps.
"You clearly didn't look at them."
Bill Sizemore, (757) 446-2276, bill.sizemore@pilotonline.com
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Intent
I think the original intent of these districts were to ensure I was represented in the neighborhood I live and that I would vote with my neighbor not people that lived on the other side of the city. As I read the comments previous about minority representation and such this statement came to mind.
“We won’t begin to address the fundamental problem of government overspending until the American People position government as an agent for justice, not an agent for good, as there is an infinite amount of good to be done in this world”
This is a quote from Article II section 16 from the state of Virginia constitution.
I think this is the solution and should be the focus of all representatives.
Virginia beach has some
Virginia beach has some nerve calming gerrymandering. Tell me Virginia beach were is the representation for the minority community in Virginia beach who do they go to when they have issues. and please don't tell me its one of the so call reps in office now. those folks are so far to the right they could never find the middle. the worst offices of gerrymandering in Virginia beach are the house of delegates and the city council the way that these two parts of Virginia beach state and city governments are gerrymandered calls for an immediate investigation from the
Department of justice. if it doesn't represent all of the citizens fairly then what difference does it make same old bull....VB
Flawed logic
were is the representation for the minority community in Virginia beach who do they go to when they have issues
So tell me, if it is your position that only a minority representative can effectively represent the minority community, I guess the whites of that same district are going to have to do without representation?
Does that mean that Obama is only President of black Americans?
I catch the undertone of this argument-"Draw the lines so that minority communities can have safe, un-defeatable minority districts where a white candidate could never hope to win so we can have representation of our own."
That is every bit as racist as drawing the districts so that only whites can win.
I like that
I like that
Where have you all been
If you don't like the way redistricting is done (I think it is disgraceful personally) then press for a Constitutional Amendment which takes the power of redistricting out of the hands of politicians who are interested first, in ensuring their own reelection, second, in increasing the odds that their party makes gains in the legislature, and unfortunately third and least, that their constituents are well served by allowing for a healthy debate on the issues of the day. Many of us have argued for years that the process was overly political and leaves many un or underrepresented. It isn't a Democrat or Republican issue, it is an incumbent issue.
put a lid on it
First, everytime I have met with our delegation in Virginia Beach the first thing they make clear is they do not represent the City of Virginia Beach. Second, each Delegate and Senator represents the constituents in their district. Third, we will likely not lose a Senator, we will gain one or two more. Yvonne Miller represents two precincts in Virginia Beach, and if we lose one VB specific Senator, those constituents will be represented by another Senator. Frankly, we may do better with multiple Senators since we can count on more Senators with the interests of VB constituents. So again, for those partisans howling about the "loss" of a seat, if you did not support a non partisan process to design the districts, please, put a lid on it.
House districts
The whining comes from Republicans whose representation was gerrymandered out of business by the Democratically controlled Senate. However, my Democratic delegate no longer will have a district as written by the Republican House of Delegates. Both parties are doing this.
gerrymandering
This gerrymandering is designed simply to disenfranchise Repulican voters. I wonder if I can sue under the voting rights act if this goes through?
It's important to note
that both parties have been guilty of gerrymandering in the past. Something needs to be done to make redistricting a much easier process, performed objectively and within specific guidelines. The current system is ridiculous.
I attended the redistricting hearings at Hampton University
to voice my concerns with way the new districts were drawn that are truly messy. I was also very impressed by the wonderful modern facilities at the university, the articulate students who spoke and the cancer center display setup highlighting their newly opened Proton Cancer Institute. My grandmother and grandfather just died from cancer so I am grateful that we have this facility in Hampton Roads. Unlike our politicians i.e. it took me almost an hour to get from Norfolk to Hampton, it appears that Hampton get positive things done.