Board of Supervisors Considers Political Boundaries Changes Today

This afternoon the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors will  listen to voters and taxpayers talk about the more than 20 proposals for redrawing the political boundaries for the supervisors districts.

Every 10 years, Fairfax County must redraw its electoral boundaries based on the population count by the U.S. Census. For this reason, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors appointed an advisory committee to recommend new boundaries. This is the  board's public hearing on those recommended redistricting proposals.  The board is scheduled to adopt a redistricting plan at its April 26 meeting.

Why you should care? You could end up being represented by a new supervisor.

Virginia has two parallel redistricting processes --- one for state representatives to the General Assembly and one for county supervisors.

The General Assembly has already voted on its plan and sent it to the governor. Under that plan McLean loses two of three current state representatives and parts of McLean become parts of new districts with Arlington.

The Washington Post said in a Sunday story: "Despite an influx of more than 110,000 residents over the past decade, the county’s nine supervisor districts might shift only slightly."

The Post story quoted, Supervisor Jeff C. McKay (D-Lee), chairman of the legislative committee that oversees redistricting, as saying the ideal plan would allow the districts to remain as close to their present boundaries as possible. “Our goal from the beginning has been to minimize disruptions,” he said. “We work so intently at the local level that we develop relationships with people. You want to continue that” as a supervisor.

Rob Jackson, president of the McLean Citizens Association who served on the special redistricting commission created by the Board said,  "I expect that the Board of Supervisors will adopt a final plan that maintains as much of the status quo as possible.  I also suspect that they will consider which neighborhoods voted for or against them.  But, unlike the General Assembly, I do not expect any wild Gerrymandered districts for the Board of Supervisors."
 
"I suspect most people would rather remain in the same district, but some precincts will need to move because of changes in population," Jackson said.  "The county will need to make an effort to notify those people who will be in a new district.  Incumbents and their challengers will need to reach out to their new constituents.   But there are likely some residents who won’t like the fact that they are in the same or a different district.  Some may have very good reasons for their objections.  But from what I’ve seen, I don’t expect there will be court challenges to the county’s redistricting. "

Dranesville Supervisor John Foust could not be reached for comment.

The county has a very helpful site to explain the proposed plans and redistricting  to county residents. A video accompanying this story explains the county process.