KAINE, OTHER LEADERS BACK CHANGE IN VIRGINIA REDISTRICTING

By Larry O’Dell
Associated Press Writer

Richmond, VA - The General Assembly would still have the final say over redistricting under legislation endorsed by a Senate committee to establish an independent panel to redraw Virginia's political map after the 2010 census.

By allowing lawmakers to amend the final product, the bill would not prevent the partisan gerrymandering that allows the majority party to strengthen its grip on power and discourages voters from participating in noncompetitive elections.
The only way to eliminate gerrymandering is to give an independent commission full authority over reapportionment, but the legislature has repeatedly and soundly rejected proposed constitutional amendments to establish such a system.

"This is a compromise," Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Bath, said of his bill, which the Privileges and Elections Committee unanimously approved Tuesday. "The whole idea is you create political pressure on the General Assembly to adopt the plan proposed by the bipartisan commission."

Whether that pressure would be enough to overcome legislators' self-preservation instincts is an open question. If the majority party didn't like the commission's recommendation, it could offer a sweeping amendment rewriting the entire plan.

Although the bill stops short of taking politics out of redistricting, it received broad bipartisan support Tuesday. Democratic Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, Republican Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling and the measure's co-sponsors from both parties talked up the proposal at a news conference.

The Virginia Redistricting Coalition, which includes an array of business and community organizations, also produced statements of support from former Democratic Gov. Mark R. Warner and former Republican U.S. Sen. George Allen, who also served as governor.
Allen knows the sting of partisan redistricting firsthand. In 1991, the Democratic majority forced him out of Congress by putting Allen and the more senior U.S. Rep. Thomas J. Bliley in the same district. Allen deferred to Bliley, but was elected governor in 1993.

"Having been the 'target' of creative cartography in partisan redistricting, I know how people in the communities are unnecessarily divided; placed into far-flung communities which do not share similar interests, and elected incumbents are placed into the same district to knock one out without a vote by the people," Allen said in a written statement.

Bolling said that while partisan gerrymandering is constitutionally permissible, it should not be the driving force behind redistricting. He and other supporters of the bill said this is the ideal time to take a step toward bipartisan reapportionment because Democrats control the Senate, Republicans the House.

However, he said he already has heard from some House members who oppose the bill.
Kaine said he supports the bill primarily because partisan redistricting results in noncompetitive seats and depresses voter turnout.

"Citizens feel they don't have a choice and decide not to participate," he said.