Legislators Return for Congressional Redistricting Work

By Amanda Iacone, Virginia Statehouse News Sunday, June 05, 2011

RICHMOND – Instead of Virginia voters picking their representatives, the state’s  congressmen are hoping to pick their voters.

It’s part of the once-a-decade ritual common in many states in which the state’s congressional delegation quietly lobbies their friends in the Legislature to protect their seats in Washington, D.C.

Using census data, state lawmakers are redrawing the boundaries of the state’s congressional districts to reflect population changes. Legislators will return to Richmond this week to continue debating various maps and possibly begin negotiating a compromise map.

But behind the scenes, the ultimate incumbent protection plan is being hammered out.  

The Republican-controlled House of Delegates has proposed a map that is supported by the state’s 11 sitting congressmen, what some have called an incumbent protection plan. The Democrat-controlled Senate has proposed a map that would increase the voting strength of black voters in central Virginia, a district that could give Democratic candidates an edge over Republicans.

“It is ridiculous to think that the best plan the General Assembly can come up with for the congressional districts is the one recommended by sitting members of our congressional delegation that’s meant solely to protect their seats,” said Doug Smith, a member of a statewide coalition that supports nonpartisan redistricting.

“This is the fundamental problem with redistricting in Virginia. We’re going to ask incumbents how they want their seats drawn,” Smith said.

He said the Legislature also is missing an opportunity to hear from residents how they would like the district lines to be drawn.

"We’re sure that key conversations are happening about these lines. They just don’t seem to include everyday citizens," said Smith, who is also president and chief executive officer of the Virginia Interfaith Center.

Sen. Jill Vogel, R-Fauquier, who sits on the Senate Privileges and Elections Committee, said the map supported by the congressional delegation should be scrutinized along with the Democrats' suggestion to add a minority influence district. But she said she is hopeful that Democrats ultimately would defer to the congressional delegation's plan, in part because it has bipartisan support.

“I am reasonably confident that the map the congressional delegation reached a consensus on would be the map the Legislature would support. There are no guarantees,” Vogel said.

No Senate Democrats or staff could be reached for comment.

Because control of the two chambers of the General Assembly is split, Republicans and Democrats will have to haggle out a compromise map.

Delegate Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah and the deputy majority leader, said he expects that the two chambers will form a conference committee this coming week to dicker out the differences. He said he hopes the two chambers can agree on a final map, but with the split control of the Legislature, it's unchartered territory for lawmakers, Gilbert said.

“We will know fairly soon what the negotiating playing field looks like,” Gilbert said.

But Republicans may have the upper hand because they control the House and the governor’s mansion. And the bipartisan support for the House map from all 11 congressmen could sway some Senate Democrats to vote for the incumbent plan, said Kyle Kondik, political analyst for the University of Virginia Center for Politics.

Right now it appears the two sides are at loggerheads and the map could end up in court, Kondik said.

At stake for Democrats is a chance to possibly win back a congressional seat in the 2012 elections. Republicans will try to maintain their eight-seat dominance in Virginia’s congressional delegation.

“Each side has the luxury of staking out a position and stick to it for a while,” said Bob Holsworth, who previously led the Center for Public Policy at Virginia Commonwealth University.

It would be difficult for the Democrats to lose the three seats they hold — two in northern Virginian and one in the Tidewater region. But Republicans likely have hit their ceiling and it would be difficult for the party to gain any extra seats, Holsworth said.

“The Democrats, particularly those in the Senate, have to think that in terms of their party there is no reason to concede to a plan that would institutionalize 2010,” he said of last year’s election results. “There is almost nothing the Democrats can lose here. The Republicans have plenty to lose.”