There’s a couple of local angles on Senate Republicans’ surprise redistricting of Virginia on Monday. The first is that they’ve managed to redraw the lines such that the Charlottesville area is split between two far-right districts, to make it impossible for the area to elect a Democrat, effectively neutering Charlottesville’s political power in the state senate. The second is that, amidst all of the Senate redistricting, there’s a curious addition:
In Albemarle County, blocks 510030105001015, 510030105001016, 510030105001017, 510030105001021, 510030105001022, 510030105001023, 510030105001024, 510030105001031, and 510030105002007 are reassigned from District 57 to District 58.
What are these census blocks? Why, they’re the Key West neighborhood, on 20 North, the very neighborhood where Albemarle Supervisor and erstwhile congressional candidate Ken Boyd lives. This redistricting bill moves Boyd out of Delegate David Toscano’s very liberal district and into Delegate Rob Bell’s very conservative district. (Bell is currently a candidate for attorney general.)
The redistricting bill still has to pass the House of Delegates and be signed into law by Governor Bob McDonnell, but there’s little cause to expect that both of those things will not happen.
For most VA redistricting the DOJ must approve changes. Is that not the case here?
Yes, this plan will have to receive DOJ approval, though the Republicans are setting up their arguments for that approval with the references to the new majority-minority district in the Southside, more compact districts, etc.
Waldo, off the top of your head, do you know how many other Virginia cities are split in such a manner?
Was this shift made to allow Boyd to seek Bell’s seat in the House of Delegates if Bell is elected AG? Or does this potentially move Boyd from the 5th Congressional district to one where he wouldn’t have to face off against an incumbent republican? My initial reaction to this was that its just republican state senators trying to build in a little protection for their incumbents in a down market for what they’re selling, with the added ‘bonus’ of a poke in the eye to Creigh Deeds for having the nerve to almost beat McDonnell 4 years ago. But if they’re tweaking house and even congressional districts then this plans much more thought out and nefarious then I would’ve assumed. Is it too late for Deeds to throw his hat in the ring against McAuliffe (again)? Maybe having his district move 100 miles away will be the nudge he seems to need?
I am confused. The article says Charlottesville is split,but the blocks reassigned are in Albemarle County. The city and county are separate political entities. Ken Boyd represents no one in the city proper, only some county residents with a Charlottesville address. Is that what you meant to say? Or is the city itself split, which would be preposterous?
The City will be split among two new SENATE districts while the block of Key West being reassigned is shifting from one HOUSE district to another (58-57). Thats how I read it. Despite this: The Senate and House reached a verbal agreement that the houses would draw their own lines and not interfere with the other’s.
So some Senator saw fit to bump Ken Boyd into another House district? Right? WHY? Creigh Deeds represents that area currently and he surely wouldn’t have (his new district would be somewhere in the Great Dismal Swamp) .. is this payback by Connaughton for Boyd pushing the bypass through?
HollowBoy–Waldo describes two separate and distinct changes, the one in the City and one in the county. And City is itself split, preposterous or not.
It is my understanding that the original bill addressed the districts adjustments (quite ordinary in fact) and the Senate ONLY changed the Senate lines with the hastily added amendment and sent back a house bill with that one, ALBEIT huge, change. So the Senators didn’t add the Keywest change that came from the house or more precisely the original unamended bill.
There’s a crucial distinction that I need to make here. I didn’t mean to imply that the city proper—the 10-square-mile entity—was being divided, although reading it, I absolutely see that a reasonable person would conclude that. Instead, I mean the city and its urban ring—that big blue spot on electoral maps, surrounded by a sea of red. I don’t want to confuse anybody else, so I’ve made the following change. What did say:
now says:
I wish that we had a word that means “the area that we all agree is Charlottesville but that is not confined by the city limits.”
Deeds did not “almost beat McDonnell” in ’09. He lost by 17.5 points.
After the redistricting fiasco, the Senate adjourned invoking the name of Confederate General Stonewall Jackson. This was after they did their dirty trick, using the absence of civil rights hero, Henry Marsh, who was attending the second inauguration of the second African-American President on the holiday devoted (in the rest of the country) to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
We cannot allow these neo-Confederates to disenfranchise everyone else. (Also, let’s encourage better democrats than Deeds. He lost because he is not an articulate spokesman for good government. McAuliffe is much better – wish I’d supported him last time around.)
“I wish that we had a word that means “the area that we all agree is Charlottesville but that is not confined by the city limits.””
The word “taint” comes to mind.
Dirty tricks like this smell like desperation, although the anachronistic troglodytes who propagate such would never admit it. Its a simple matter of evolving demographics. They just aren’t making as many racist, classist, gynophobic, bourbon and bible soaked anti-science patricians any more, and somewhere deep inside their pointed little minds, that fact is creeping in. They had a good run, but their time is up. And while it is often difficult to experience the side effects of their trying to reconstruct a idealized, Disneyfied America of the 1950’s – one that never actually existed – ultimately time is not on their side.
One day, we will remember these bouffant encrusted thought police as a mere hiccup on the long long road to progress – that is, if we remember them at all. Sure, the distorted economic and political privilege – built on the backs of those less fortunate and enforced by a corrupted power structure – will indeed extend their death throws way beyond any form of reason, and these changes will probably not happen in my lifetime. But eventually the trans-vaginal rape wands will be forged into scepters of liberty, redistricting will be based on didactic computer models as Hal intended, and the tunic that Cuccenelli thew over our fair Virtus in a fit of Jesus induced shame, will be pulled back to once again expose the breast that symbolizes the overthrow of such tyranny!
And as empiricism conquers superstition, dawn will come. Our fair commonwealth once again will be governed by morally neutral pragmatic technocrats whose concerns about color will be those of numbers on a balance sheet, not melatonin; whose concerns of genitals will be merely whether or not they have adequate healthcare, not of what sort or what they are used for; and whose aspirations of power will not be for themselves and their prehensile political hair club for men, but for ALL the citizens of the beautiful Commonwealth of Virginia – and there will be much rejoicing.
I so I say to you: Fear not the wicked, let them die and they will perish.
Sorry, Will, of course you’re right. It was 2005 when he narrowly lost to McDonnell (323 votes)
Stephen Colbert mentioned this on his show and pointed out that it was pushed through on Monday when Democratic Senator Harry Marsh was absent and attending the Presidential Inauguration. Yay, Virginia! Way to get a shout-out on a very popular show!
Gotta love those Va Senate Republicans – Colbert’s ” Alpa Dogs of Week ”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/va-politics/colbert-mocks-gops-va-redistricting-coup/2013/01/24/76a55da0-6628-11e2-85f5-a8a9228e55e7_story.html
And, for anyone who believes McDonnell didn’t know about this well, I’ve got a bridge to sell you.
McAuliffe is a braying jackass. He’s everything wrong with U.S. politics, all wrapped up in one candidate.
Waldo,
Would you prefer Cuccinelli ?
” On Monday, MLK Day, Cuccinelli again made the comparison between his fight against the federal requirement that birth control be offered with no copay by insurance plans to King’s fight for equal rights for African Americans. ”
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2013/01/ken-cuccinelli-im-fighting-the-contraception-mandate-just-like-martin-luther-king-1.php
If you read the hyperlink Waldo provided, he would clearly prefer another Democrat. Being against one candidate does not automatically mean a preference for another candidate; even when it would seem there is just a binary choice. I think that after reading this site for many years Waldo “might” even be open to a reasonable 3rd party candidate if the poll leading McA-Cuch lineup occurs.
“Constantly choosing the lesser of two evils is still choosing evil.”
Garcia, Jerry
“Don’t blame me—I voted for Kodos.“
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“McAuliffe is a braying jackass. He’s everything wrong with U.S. politics, all wrapped up in one candidate.” This statement is so out of character I decided to click on the link. Waldo is 100% right. What don’t understand is why would someone think Waldo was endorsing the AG because of this remark.
As for Henry Marsh, if he had been here conducting VA business that he was elected to do instead of playing around in DC, would this proposed redistricting have passed?
It would be wonderful if Ken Boyd moved back to southwestern VA. I can’t stand people who talk out of both sides of their mouths.
Apparently, the house struck this down. Yeah!
http://www.nbc29.com/story/21010937/house-knocks-down-proposed-senate-redistricting-bill