House Pushes Revised Map in Redistricting after Gov's Veto

By Amanda Iacone, Virginia Statehouse News Thursday, April 21, 2011

RICHMOND - The House of Delegates moved this week to advance a revised map following Gov. Bob McDonnell’s veto last week of redistricting plans.

The Senate, however, is not expected to meet again until next week and few changes are expected to the Senate district map.

McDonnell vetoed the redistricting bill largely because of concerns he had with the Senate map, which was drawn by Democrats. Republicans unsuccessfully pushed for their own map and have said they had no input in the final map.

McDonnell said Monday he vetoed the bill instead of suggesting amendments because he does not believe it is the governor’s role to draw district lines. He said he wants to see the Senate work together to come up with a better plan.

He also said he wants a lawful bill that protects communities of interest, which was among the chief priorities identified by the governor’s bipartisan redistricting commission, McDonnell said.

“I’d rather not tell them how to do that. I’d rather outline for them at least a brief road map of the problems,” McDonnell said. “Look, these are smart people of goodwill. I’m pretty confident if Republicans and Democrats sit down in the Senate and if I work with them, provide a little guidance, we can get this done.”

McDonnell said he is hopeful the Senate will not submit the same plan, as Senate Majority Leader Dick Saslaw has threatened. The governor said he wants senators to make a real effort to address his concerns.

He pointed to the House’s quick bipartisan approval of a revised map and said the Senate should take the House’s lead.

Delegate Chris Jones, R-Suffolk, who crafted the House map, said he was surprised the governor chose to veto the bill instead of offering recommended changes. Legislators, Jones said, had completed their work.

Jones said he took the opportunity to reunite several precincts, mostly in the Richmond area. Few other changes were made however, and the House Privileges and Elections Committee voted to send the map to the House for consideration.

Jones defended the map, saying it was already a strong plan and that Democrats had significant input into drawing the lines. The House had passed the original map with strong bipartisan support.

The House is expected to consider the plan April 25 and then send it quickly to the Senate for their consideration, said G. Paul Nardo, spokesman for the Speaker of the House Bill Howell.

That gives the Senate time to resolve its differences, Nardo said.

But Democrats aren’t backing away from their plan.

Sen. Dave Marsden, D-Fairfax, said the governor will see a similar plan come out of the Senate. He said lawmakers consulted with Republican senators and called it disingenuous for the Republicans to say their concerns weren’t addressed.

“The issue here is not how this plan compares to the one 10 years ago. It’s whether it complies with the law and we certainly believe that it does,” Marsden said.

Republicans continued to pressure Democrats to overhaul its map.

Sens. Thomas Norment, R-James City, and Stephen Newman, R-Lynchburg, praised the House for improving its plan, which already had bipartisan support.

“Now, Senate Democrats need to do the same, and begin working in a bipartisan manner to craft a redistricting plan that satisfies the governor’s legally and constitutionally valid concerns and objections,” Newman said in a press release.