The Williamsburg City Council came out in support of a resolution that advocates reform of the state’s legislative redistricting process at its meeting Thursday.
In a 4-1 vote, council members approved a measure calling for “transparent and non-partisan legislative districting” in Virginia. The move was inspired by the efforts of OneVirginia2021: Virginians for Fair Redistricting, a nonprofit group that supports electoral reform in the state.
By several measures, such reform would have a significant effect on the composition of the state’s legislative districts. In terms of compactness and contiguity of districts—maxims required by the state constitution—Virginia is one of the most gerrymandered states in the country.
Named for the 18th-century governor of Massachusetts, Elbridge Gerry, gerrymandering refers to drawing legislative districts for partisan political gain. The result is often oddly shaped, non-competitive districts.
Under the current map, 46 localities are split between state senate districts, and 59 localities are split between House of Delegates districts. The City of Williamsburg has one state senator and one delegate, but James City and York counties are divided.
In the 2013 general election, 56 House of Delegates candidates faced no major-party challenger, and 19 of the remaining 44 races were considered competitive.
In a June 2014 article, Bob Gibson, executive director of then Sorenson Institute at the University of Virginia, and Matthew Scoble, executive director of VirginiaOne2021, encourage Virginia localities to push for redistricting reform before the 2020 U.S. Census. With redistricting occurring once every decade, failure to act would postpone any reform until 2031 at the earliest.
Vice Mayor Paul Freiling said such reform could have a positive effect on both state and national discourse. Noncompetitive races encourage candidates of both parties to drift toward ideological extremes, he said.
“You can’t take the politics out of redistricting, but you can make it less political,” Freiling said.
Councilman Scott Foster also supported the resolution, saying the current system has led to gridlock throughout American politics.
Councilman Doug Pons, who voted against the resolution, said he was more skeptical of the reform proposal, and suggested that instituting nonpartisan elections could have a similar, and perhaps more beneficial, outcome.
Councilwoman Judy Knudson, however, said the city would be joining a growing list of localities calling for reform by passing the resolution. Knudson pointed to Florida’s recent overhaul of its legislative redistricting process as an example.
“We need to do something, and what better place to start than in Williamsburg?” she said.
The resolution is nonbinding on the state, but encourages the state government to explore reform options.
