Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Editorial: Say no to gerrymandering
Redistricting in Virginia needs a nonpartisan process; it doesn't matter which party makes the call.
From the RoundTable blog
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When Democrats controlled the General Assembly, Republicans pushed for a nonpartisan redistricting commission.
Now that they're in charge, Republicans are rebuffing a similar push by out-of-power Democrats.
This tit-for-tat game, which played out most recently at a conference this weekend in Richmond, does nothing to move Virginia beyond a process mired for too long in self- and party-protection.
At a conference on Virginia politics, redistricting and whether it should remain a prerogative of the state legislature dominated one panel discussion, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
"See, when they were doing it, it was OK," veteran GOP operative J. Kenneth Klinge said.
"Two wrongs don't make a right," countered Del. Brian Moran, of Alexandria, House Democratic Caucus chairman.
Moran is right.
As long as politics is allowed to dominate the redistricting process and give lawmakers the ability to protect their interests and those of their parties, then voters lose.
The most recent attempt at process change failed. The House Privileges and Elections Committee killed a Senate-approved proposal during this year's General Assembly that would have amended the state constitution to create a bipartisan redistricting process.
The Republican-controlled panel argued that no action can really remove politics from the redistricting process.
Really? The General Assembly should look to Iowa for guidance. There, the Legislative Service Bureau, a nonpartisan redistricting service, has the initial responsibility for drafting both state and congressional legislative district plans. The legislature has the responsibility for enacting the plans.
The result -- according to an article on Centrists.org, a think tank for bipartisan policymaking -- is that "Iowa politicians know they must appeal not only to their party, but also to independent voters and voters affiliated with the other party. This inevitably leads to an emphasis on bipartisan cooperation and the public's best interest."
That's how it should be, and could be, in Virginia.
