Ed. — From the Sunday, Aug. 13, print edition.
COURTHOUSE — Virginia Beach is poised on Tuesday, Aug. 15, to begin its permanent adoption of a10-district local voting system that was used in the 2022 elections after a federal judge found the city’s former system to be discriminatory.
The City Council is scheduled to vote upon a redistricting measure that would adopt 10 districts, replacing seven former residency districts. Under the old system, which mixed districts and at-large seats, people living outside of a residency district helped determine who represented it.
Under the system used this past year, only residents of districts select who represents them, a change that resulted from a federal lawsuit and new state law. The old system cannot return as it was, and the city attorney’s office this past month recommended that the city enact the 10-district system due, in part, to the possibility of renewed litigation. The recommendation also came following a public engagement process that found public support for the new system.
Additional steps may follow to codify it, but several members of the City Council have signaled in recent weeks that it is time to move ahead. The vote scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 15, will formally state the council’s will to do so.
During an interview, Mayor Bobby Dyer said he was glad the City Council went ahead with a public engagement process led by the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service that found 81 percent of citizens support the 10-district system, a process he called “statistically valid.”
“I look forward to voting for it next Tuesday,” said City Councilmember Jennifer Rouse on Tuesday, Aug. 8. Rouse represents District 10 and has supported – and was elected to office – under the 10-district system used in 2022.
A draft of the measure the council will consider was the subject of a public hearing at City Hall on Tuesday, Aug. 8. It would set the 10 single-member districts used this past year as permanent for both City Council and School board elections.
The districts, if approved, would be inconsistent with the system described in the City Charter, according to a staff report about the ordinance. But, the report said, state law gives local government discretion to add districts and a decennial redistricting ordinance can trump a charter.
“However,” the report noted, “the city’s legislative agenda will most likely include either a charter change or general law request to address the inconsistency between the redistricting ordinance and the current text of the City Charter.”
During the public hearing this past week, several speakers supported the system used in 2022 – though some did not, including criticism of the lack of an advisory referendum on the topic prior to a decision.
Among the supporters of the new system was Georgia Allen, formerly the head of the Virginia Beach NAACP and, along with Latasha Holloway, a plaintiff in the lawsuit that led to change.
The process, Allen said, has been an exhausting one.
“But you know what is not exhausting?” she said. “Standing up for our children, our grandchildren, great-grands and those yet unborn.” She added, “So, tonight, I call upon you to codify the 10-1 voting system.”
Susan Potter of Kempsville said voters understand the implications of the voting system change and support it.
“Eighty-one percent of them – 81 percent – believe in and want you to adopt the 10-1 system,” she said.
James Luehman, who lives near the Oceanfront, said his remarks mean to “drive a stake through the heart” of the former voting system, which required candidates to campaign and spend accross the entire city.
“That’s not required in the 10-1 system,” he said.
Frederick Foard of College Park, who has worked as a statistician, spoke in support of the 10-1 system. He noted that some had concerns about the sample size used to develop the survey showing support for the new system.
“It’s valid statistically for making decisions,” he said.
Gary McCollum, a community leader, noted the 2022 local elections resulted in the most diverse City Council in Virginia Beach’s history and made the field fairer for citizens.
“When you ran in the old system, you ran in 100-plus precincts,” McCollum said. “In the news system, you run in the district, 10, 12 (precincts). That’s a whole lot less money you need to run a campaign than the old system. So the monied interests have less influence in a 10-1 system than the old system.”
Carl Wright, a community leader and former head of the Virginia Beach NAACP, noted the support found for the 10-1 system during the public outreach process. He urged council members to support the 10-district system.
“I understand there’s a small group of people who still want power,” he said. “You still have your power. It’s just in your district.”
Among those who listened to speakers was state Del. Kelly Fowler, the Virginia Beach Democrat who sponsored a bill that required only residents of a district to select their own representation.
At the time, the bill was criticized by some local officials, though it ultimately became law.
Regarding the coming council decision, Fowler said, “Let’s hope they do the right thing.”
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Keep up the good work.