Suit seeks to boost chance for second black House member

RICHMOND

A federal court has been asked to draw new Virginia congressional boundaries after a split over the racial composition of districts kept the General Assembly from adopting a map this year as required by the state constitution.

The lawsuit on behalf of six voters was filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for Eastern Virginia about a week after Democrats forecast legal action in the wake of last week's General Assembly elections, which gave Republicans control of state government.

In the spring, legislators approved state House and Senate redistricting plans - a process that occurs every 10 years - but they've been stuck since the summer on how to adjust Virginia's 11 congressional districts.

However, that impasse will likely vanish after the new General Assembly is seated in January. This month's election left the GOP more dominant in the House of Delegates and with a Senate edge as well because Republican Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling will have the tiebreaking vote in the chamber, which will be split 20-20 between the parties.

This advantage will allow the Republicans to approve their preferred map, a House plan to protect congressional incumbents.

Virginia's delegation has eight Republicans and three Democrats, one of whom is U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott, a Newport News Democrat who represents the 3rd District, the state's only majority-black congressional district.

Senate Democrats, particularly those in the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus, oppose the plan favored by Republicans, believing it packs black voters into one district to dilute their influence elsewhere.

They argue that because blacks are roughly one-fifth of the state population, congressional districts should be drawn to create opportunities for minorities to represent two seats in the delegation.

To achieve that, Democrats proposed a dramatic change to the 4th District, now served by U.S. Rep. Randy Forbes, R-Chesapeake.

The district would be remade into a Democratic-leaning territory with a 53.5 percent black majority. The Democrats' plan also would reduce the black population of Scott's district to about 45 percent.

The lawsuit filed by Alexandria election law attorney J. Gerald "Gerry" Hebert essentially asks the court to set a new congressional district map for the next decade.

Anything produced by the federal court would be better than a politically gerrymandered plan, Hebert said.

Hebert has represented Virginia Democrats in the past but didn't say whether this is their lawsuit. He declined to say who's funding it.

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