Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, April 2, 1991 TAG: 9104020442
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ROB EURE POLITICAL WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
Macfarlane said the chairman of the Senate redistricting panel had "uni- laterally and arbitrarily" ordered the change "in secret" and in violation of lines that he and other Southwest Virginia senators had agreed upon as their newdistricts.
Macfarlane's outburst brought condemnation from one panel member and ridicule from others.
"Some say this is an April Fools' Day," Senate Majority Leader Hunter Andrews, D-Hampton, sneered at Macfarlane.
Sen. Joe Gartlan, chairman of the Senate Privileges and Elections Committee, said that it was Macfarlane who first changed the district lines, without checking with anyone, to benefit his district. Now he was howling that the lines had been changed back, Gartlan said.
Gartlan, D-Fairfax, said he ordered the districts changed back because he understood that is what the majority of Southwest Virginia senators agreed to and that Macfarlane might be "a minority of one" in objecting to the plan.
The contentious exchange set the tone for the opening of the General Assembly session Monday to draw new lines for state legislative districts according to population shifts recorded in the 1990 census. The session is scheduled to last at least a week.
At issue in Macfarlane's complaint is the switching of nine Roanoke County precincts between Macfarlane and Fincastle Sen. Dudley "Buzz" Emick in the northern and southern ends of the county. The precincts involved are Bent Mountain, Castle Rock, Cotton Hill, Oak Grove, Poages Mill, Burlington, Hollins, Northside and Peters Creek.
In essence, Macfarlane received Republican-leaning precincts in the southern part of the county while Emick retained some Democratic precincts he represents now in the north. Both are Democrats.
Macfarlane suggested that Gartlan made the changes to satisfy Emick.
He said Gartlan has waged "a one-man crusade to bash our governor" for not consulting with legislators on his decisions. But when Gartlan "does it in secret, it's his own private matter," Macfarlane said.
Gartlan is one of the few legislators to publicly criticize Gov. Douglas Wilder's administration. He is known for candid assessments of a number of fellow politicians, including Macfarlane, whom he once described as a "world-class meddler" and "super-klutz."
Macfarlane said that he, Emick and the other four Democratic senators from Southwest Virginia had agreed on the lines as he wanted them drawn. But he also said he and Emick had not discussed the precincts in question.
Several of the other senators from the area contradicted Macfarlane. They alleged that Macfarlane had his own district lines changed to suit himself without checking with any of them.
Sen. Madison Marye, D-Shawsville, the region's representative on the redistricting panel, said Macfarlane had a "misunderstanding . . . on what he thought was his district."
Marye, who has acted as the unofficial chairman of the Southwest Virginia Senate caucus in forging a plan for the region, said he has "repeatedly encouraged" Macfarlane and Emick to work out an agreement on who would represent what in Roanoke County but that Macfarlane had drafted his own plan for the county and put it in the statewide Senate plan.
"It would be nice for me if I went out and picked up three of the most favorable precincts" and didn't mention it to the senator whose district is affected, Marye said.
Sen. Clive DuVal, D-Fairfax, condemned Macfarlane for a "personal attack on the character and integrity" of Gartlan. He said if Macfarlane repeats the remarks on the floor of the Senate, he would move to have them ruled out of order.
Emick, who is the beneficiary of the precinct switches, declined to comment on the matter. He was not in the committee room when Macfarlane blasted Gartlan.
Macfarlane said the issue is not whether he or Emick got the more Democratic district, but rather the secrecy of the decision.
"There've been secret Finance Committee meetings, and now some senators are being sued over it," Macfarlane said in an interview after the meeting. "Now we have this," he continued. "That hurts our reputation as a body. It's one more piece of evidence."
Gartlan and Emick are both on the Finance Committee, and both are named in a suit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union alleging a violation of the Freedom of Information Act.
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB