Gov. Bob McDonnell has just issued Executive Order #31 creating the Independent Bipartisan Advisory Commission on Redistricting. The commission is tasked with ensuring bipartisan citizen involvement in the redistricting process for General Assembly and congressional seats. Stated the governor:
As Virginia redraws its legislative districts later this year, the process should take place in a manner that is fair and open. Legislative districts should be drawn in a way that reflects commonsense geographic boundaries and communities of interests as required by law. This Bipartisan Redistricting Commission will contribute to public involvement, openness, and fairness in the redistricting process.
The commission will consists of 11 members, with an equal number of Republicans and Democrats plus Chairman Bob Holsworth, founder of the non-partisan website Virginiatomorrow.com. It will submit a redistricting plan to the General Assembly for approval.
Kudos to McDonnell for eschewing the prospect of short-term political gain in favor of creating districts around natural communities of interest. Assuming the commission’s proposals are adopted, bipartisan redistricting could lead to fewer safe seats, fewer elections being decided in primaries, fewer ideologues and more competitive races all around. In theory, bipartisan redistrict could result in a reduction in polarized politics.
As virtuous as bipartisan redistricting reform is, it is only the first baby step in the road to governance reform. The next step will be to reorganize the powers of state and local governments in recognition of the reality that the metropolitan region (what EMR calls the New Urban Region) is the fundamental economic unit of the 21st century. The municipalities around which Virginia organizes the delivery of government services are an artifact of the agrarian era, they are a barrier to the efficient delivery of government services, and they contribute to the perpetuation of dysfunctional human settlement patterns.
If Gov. McDonnell really wants to leave his mark on the Old Dominion, he needs to initiate a process for restructuring governance in the commonwealth of Virginia.
