Lawmakers in Richmond to take up redistricting

RICHMOND

The General Assembly returns to the Capitol today to resume work on congressional redistricting maps, but a speedy compromise on competing plans from House Republicans and Senate Democrats appears unlikely.

Instead, lawmakers expect a day of procedural moves that set the stage for negotiations, which may take a month or more.

The proposal offered by House Republicans is drawn to protect incumbents in Virginia's 11-member congressional delegation, which currently consists of eight Republicans and three Democrats.

A map sponsored by Sen. Mamie Locke, D-Hampton, includes changes to two districts in Hampton Roads in an attempt to create a second seat favorable to a black candidate.

Locke's plan would reduce the proportion of black residents in the 3rd District and boost it in the 4th District.

At present, the 3rd District population is 56.2 percent black. It is the only majority-black congressional district in the state, and its elected representative, U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott, a Newport News Democrat, is the only black member of the delegation.

The concentration of blacks would dip to 45 percent in Locke's version of the 3rd District, which would stretch from James City County to Virginia Beach.

The 4th District, now represented by Chesapeake Republican U.S. Rep. Randy Forbes, would be reconfigured as a majority-black district in the Locke plan. N

ow a little over one-third black, it would increase to a 53 percent black population.

Those who support the Locke plan reason that Virginia's congressional delegation should reflect its population, which is nearly one-fifth black.

Another plan modeled after hers was circulated among legislators by the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia. It is billed as having majority-black populations in the 3rd and 4th Districts.

The Senate today is expected to swap the House congressional bill from Del. Bill Janis, R-Henrico County, for the Locke plan. Then, a select group of delegates and senators will be appointed to negotiate a compromise.

Several lawmakers predict an accord can be reached by July, though some aren't as optimistic.

Sen. Donald McEachin, D-Henrico County, said a quick compromise is possible "if the House Republicans understand we are serious" about the Locke plan.

"If they think that we're going to capitulate," he added, "then we've got a very long summer, fall and winter ahead of us."

The House plan, countered Janis, is more legally defensible and reflects the sentiments of the electorate from the 2010 congressional elections.

Janis dismissed the notion Republicans want to delay congressional redistricting until after the November elections because of the possibility the GOP could regain control of the Senate.

"There's no great secret plot to kick this can down the road until after the election because you gain no advantage," he said. Even if Democrats lose the majority, the new Senate wouldn't take office until early January 2012, he noted, and the state constitution requires it to be done this year.

This spring, the legislature adopted redistricting plans for the House and Senate that have been sent to the U.S. Justice Department for preclearance review. The attorney general's office expects a response by June 17.

Julian Walker, (804) 697-1564, julian.walker@pilotonline.com