The Virginian-Pilot
©
VIRGINIA BEACH
The city soon could have its first majority-minority electoral district. Barely.
But because voters citywide still would pick the representative of that district, it's unlikely by itself to mean greater racial diversity on the City Council, council members and activists said.
The City Council will vote today on a map aimed at balancing the population in Virginia Beach's seven representative districts. The council members who have worked most closely on redrawing the lines are recommending the City Council adopt a map that would turn Centerville, near the Chesapeake border, into a majority-minority district.
The district would have 50.28 percent of voters who are nonwhite. Getting over 50 percent of minority voters in one district has been a challenge in Virginia Beach, where black, Asian and Hispanic residents are spread throughout the city.
That map, unlike the nearly dozen others proposed this summer, also addresses concerns of neighborhoods that didn't want to be split, council members who wanted to retain certain pockets of the city, and elected officials who asked that their homes be included in the districts they currently represent, Vice Mayor Louis Jones said.
"It satisfies as many of the concerns that have come to us as we could satisfy," Jones said.
But the new boundaries are unlikely to transform the City Council, which some residents have criticized for failing to reflect the diversity of the city.
A third of the city's residents are minorities, but Virginia Beach has elected two blacks and one Filipino to the City Council in its nearly 50-year history.
"I don't think the shift in any of the district lines will have an impact on future City Council elections," Councilman Glenn Davis said.
The NAACP has pushed for a voting system where only a district's residents choose their representative.
"Even if you change the voting districts, you still have the same problem," said Andrew Jackson, who was part of a community group that worked with the NAACP to develop its own map proposals.
The coalition's maps tried to keep neighborhoods together so if the city ever adopted a ward system, the boundary lines already would be in place.
But a switch to that voting system would require the General Assembly to change the city charter. Some civic groups tried unsuccessfully to change the system in the 1990s and voters defeated a referendum specifically on wards in 1996.
"That's not what the general public wants," Jones said.
Deirdre Fernandes, (757) 222-5121, deirdre.fernandes@pilotonline.com
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In the words of the late,
In the words of the late, great Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.:
"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal." ...
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."
As long as we continue to make "special cases" ... in grants, programs, set-asides, political districts, etc., I believe Dr. King's dream will not be realized. Gone should be the days where public policy holds a group back ... in order to push others ahead.
according to the 2010 census
35.5% of VB is minority. That's more than "a third".
35.5 > 33.3
REDISTRICTING NOT NEEDED
I guess the new political buzzword is redistricting. Redistricting serves the opposite purpose of what it allegedly sets out to do (e.g., promote diversity).
Its silly to think any city is going to be diversified enough in any given area where racial profiles would be generally equal. People live where it feels comfortable socially and financially for them. To set out and try to map/rope these socio-economic variables into a "one size fits all" product is crazy. The NAACP has its own agenda, as do politicians on both sides of the fence.
We need to break out of the 2-dimensinal affirmative action and faux diversity mold. They don't represent reality.
Comment deleted
Comment removed for rules violation. Reason: Racial, ethnic, group attack
What A Misleading Story!
The plan being spoken of is 2D. It makes Centerville District a minority-majority district (which is probably unsustainable), while making Rose Hall District an influence district.
In sharp contrast, the NAACP Plan has Rose Hall District as minority-majority, plus two influence districts (Centerville and Kempsville). No one in any of the 5 public meetings has attacked the NAACP Plan.
Which plan offers more? I think you can figure it out.
Hopefully, there will never
Hopefully, there will never be a change to ward elections in VB!! For minorities, it would mean they would get "their" seat, but nothing else. (It is not a coincidence that Republican legislatures around the country are redrawing districts to create a few heavily minority districts and the rest mostly white, thus isolating the minorities and creating safe seats for white Republicans). the current systrem in VB tends to create a balance so that each councilperson has to take into account the interests of both other councilpersons and the interests of the city as a whole, rather than just a small part of the city.
redrawing on both sides
First of all the redrawing of voting district lines has been done for many years now to favor the political party that's in power, the democrats do it just the same and even more so if you look at history and even the local political affairs. Your argument does not hold water, and how about regardless of skin color you put a good candidate up for vote and base the election on merritt and not color of skin. I don't care about the color of skin but if the political candidate will do what I want them to do and if they have integrity and good leadership skills. Get over skin color, it's minorities that continue to make this an issue.....to quote one of the dem's greatest websites."MOVE ON!!!"
EVEN IF YOU TRY TO DO GOOD
someone always has a complaint.
What MORE do people want?
A 30 hour work week, 2 months of vaction and a non-functioning legal system?
Go to Europe, better yet hang out here because we're headed in that direction now.
Change Is A Given
Virginia Beach is now 35.5% minority, and demographers project it will be minority-majority by the 2040 Census. There were fewer Whites living in Virginia Beach in 2010 than in 1990.
In addition, you have the problem of campaigning across such a large land area and reaching 437k people. That gives candidates in the pockets of monied interests a huge advantage, and that's why our elite doesn't even want to discuss electoral reform.
The demise of the current electoral system is a given. Its defenders are whistling in the graveyard.
Nice point
Well done