I just heard from my Supervisor, Kelly Burk, that the Board of Supervisors has approved a Redistricting plan for the County that includes most of Leesburg in one District. It was essentially the Miller 5 plan. Supervisors Burton (Blue Ridge), Kurtz (Catoctin), Burk (Leesburg), McGimsey (Potomac), and Buckley (Sugarland Run) were the majority that passed the plan.
Here is the Miller 5 plan they were starting from. Note this is not the plan that was passed, as edits to it were made during the process today. Once we have an accurate map (see the Leesburg Today article for details on that), we’ll make it available.
[Update] Chairman Scott York has shared his version of the plan that was passed. Here it is:
Leesburg Today has the story.
The adopted plan, which will be mapped later this week and may require additional changes to make each district comply with population thresholds, includes five suburban districts in eastern Loudoun and two hybrid districts that include rural areas in western and northern Loudoun as well as subdivisions in central Loudoun. The Leesburg District is expanded, but some town residents will be in the expanded Catoctin District that surrounds the town.
…
Among the changes made to the published Miller 5 plan was to move the area north of Hamilton into the Catoctin District; move Hillsboro into the Blue Ridge District; and move the Oak Grove area from the Sterling District to a Sterling/Ashburn District. –Leesburg Today
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Like I said, six of one, half a dozen of another. Especially since the demographics will shift dramatically again in a couple years, and we’re not allowed to plan for that.
I do really think that the new Blue Ridge district does a big disservice to Brambleton. I think that the new district McGimsey will be running from is a mess.
In the HOA 4 plan, I thought that Leesburg could have been better done by.
I wish that it could have been done with a ruler and had it end up looking like the map of the Western US, but apparently that’s not allowed either since it has to be done by census blocks at the fine-grain level.
But it looks increasingly like there’s only one district that is entirely composed of happy people right now, and that’s Leesburg. Possibly Susan’s district, too. I dunno.
Catoctin has unhappy Lansdowners. Blue Ridge has a whole host of unhappy people, as does the area Andrea will run from and the area Larry Roeder will run from. And the remainder of Lansdowne and Ashburn.
And Barbara is totally spot on about the Airport district. It is ridiculous for a Supervisor to have to LEAVE the district in order to reach constituents in a different part of it. Blue Ridge goes all the way to the airport, and the airport is not navigable.
I’ve already posted it on his blog, Mrs. Miller, but thank you.
David, you have your theories? Gee, maybe emails like Mr. Turner’s will come out that prove it?
There was no “gerrymandered” rural seat in any HOA plan.
There was only one, truly rural policy area.
And that can’t be countenanced by those who expect representation that does not relate to either population or communities.
The argument that it takes too long to drive from Lovettsville to Middleburg means what?
That no one there should be politically “punished” (not granted extra representation) for wanting to maintain unpaved roads and low population density?
Or that neither Mr. Burton nor Mr. Baldwin should be forced to drive too far by campaigning in the same rural district?
Tell me, what favors has it done to either of those men, to have one going door to door in Brambleton, after cutting their community up (and kudos to Mr. Miller for posting on your blog that Mr. Burton said he did not care about any eastern precincts! breathtaking!), and to the other having to work his way in a loop through the suburbs of Leesburg?
That will surely be LOTS easier, especially when those answering the door will want to know why this happened before they listen to any of the initiatives each will have to discuss–like maybe the CBPO?
All of the uproar about this is based on the pretense that the HOA plan didn’t have all of the same problems, just for different people. With one vote in the other direction we would now be having a conversation about how that plan ended up being created and adopted (I have my theory), who cut deals with who, how Leesburg was sliced and diced and disenfranchised, and how a single rural district was gerrymandered, in order to kowtow to eastern suburban residents.
Whatever. I still would have much preferred taking a serious look at a 10 district solution, which is going to have to happen at some point anyway.
How nice of you to be worried about what this will do to Stevens’s possible campaign for State Senate. I’ll pass along your concern!
Actually, the plan that was adopted divided people indiscriminately, according to whether they were “real” or not to the dividers.
The “us” that had the power to do so showed breathtaking contempt for “them”, which is everbody else treated as mutable numbers instead of communities.
The new Dulles district is ridiculous, and the Catoctin district is as well, along with Potomac.
The Democratic candidates who will campign in this mess will have a large credibility hurdle to overcome on behalf of those party insiders who decreed the plan, and for some reason hung it around Mr. Miller’s neck in spite of his upcoming senate campaign.
They had the votes to do it no matter what he did, and he needed to support the people he will be asking to vote for him.
Amazing that two “rural” seats (that will now be jeopardized because of this stupidity) are more important than a new senate seat.
I expand on my thoughts here over at Doorbell Queen
McG has no chance in Ashburn. Dem, Rep or Indi, we all know that she is a carpet bagger and the cause of the carve-up of the central part of the county. Burton just awoke a sleeping giant too and invited the suburban horde into his rural plateau. Kelly is the real winner here with a district just suited to her and a shadow municipal gov’t to do all the work. Susan and Sally won too cause they don’t have to run in the muck that they created for the rest of us.
I have no idea what the Dem leadership was thinking on this one. They just pissed off a huge swath of the electorate in what is not a particularly friendly county for us.
Sally once again proved that she is our District leader. Too bad she isn’t running again. The gal has spunk! The HOA plan should have been dead in the water from the start. It divided Loudoun into an us vs them county. Really silly. The rural part was way too big and unmagageable. Also, nobody in the HOAs had anything to do with the plan — only the Directors? Democracy? Hardly. Miller 5 was best. Too bad Stevens put his interests over that of the county.
And then there’s…
http://blog.vivianpaige.com/2011/03/16/redistricting-what-if-va-looked-like-this/
A second minority-majority Congressional District in Virginia? Sounds like a good idea to me.
No idea, but it has to be before June if they’re going to make all the deadlines. I’d expect a rush sometime in April, but probably not before then.
And now that I’ve got that out of my system, anyone know when the HOD and State Senate districts’ll be out?
That’s true, but it’s damned effective to say, “Hi! I live right over there (pointing), and I’m asking you to help me get rid of Delgaudio! Let’s all walk over to the polls together on Election Day!”
I believe there are 200 votes to be found, indeed a lot more than 200 votes against Mr. Delgaudio to be found, among those who are new to the area since 2007, along with those whose precincts will be part of the updated Sterling district.
And there’s nothing preventing anyone from walking and knocking outside of their district for a good candidate. I know I plan on doing my share of canvassing outside of my District for Democrats I believe in (perhaps even Stevens… :).
I disagree. Those net hundred votes, and Stevens and my shoe leather, could really have helped a Dem candidate win out over Eugene, who only lost by 200 votes last time.
Instead, we are just an increase in the win margin for Andrea. I am disappointed.
I believe the plan that was passed offers any good candidate, of any party, a chance to win. That is something Loudoun deserves.
For every criticism leveled that this or that plan does this or that to this or that neighborhood or candidate, a different neighborhood or candidate would be equally benefited or harmed. That is the nature of redistricting.
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What an atrocity. Democrats sold out a chance to beat Delgaudio to gerrymander a district for McGimsey — a district she won’t win. McGimsey in Broadlands?
All for what? To put Lansdowne residents in with Lovettsville to force one western Loudoun seat and to disenfranchise Brambleton by placing them in with Middleburg. How does any of that help Democrats? It weakens Burton’s chances. Baldwin will have an uphill slog. Burk will ne vulnerable in a bad year for Democrats and the LCDC has completely alienated itself from ever eastern Loudoun neighborhood.
For me, the original Miller 5 plan vs. the HOA 4 plan was six of one, half-a-dozen of the other. But I am appalled by the amendment putting Oakgrove into what will be McGimsey’s district instead of putting it into what would be Delgaudio’s district.
It was a move of sheer stupidity.
And I’m betting that Delgaudio is relieved that a net 100 solid Democrats (including an elected official and an enthusiastic canvasser) are not districted in with him.
Well done, McGimsey, Buckley, Burk, Burton, and Kurtz!