THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 22, 1995 TAG: 9510200193
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 08 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KAREN WEINTRAUB, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 117 lines
John T. Atkinson would like to carve the city into seven council districts that would snake from the top of the city to the bottom, getting lumpier in the middle. His idea is to spread out the city's wealth among the seven City Council members who represent geographic areas, giving none a fiefdom; and all a diverse set of constituent interests.
Maury Jackson sees a divided Kempsville and a combined Pungo, Blackwater and Princess Anne boroughs. His philosophy is to keep things pretty much the same, just even them out.
Having council districts that range from 1,000 people to 150,000 is ludicrous, says Jackson, one of the prime opponents of the city's present system of government. Instead, he believes voters should be part of wards with about 56,000 people apiece.
The two men - one the city treasurer, the other, an active member of the Council of Civic Organizations - have presented the only images so far for Virginia Beach's new voting districts. The General Assembly last year mandated that the city change the boroughs that have been in place since the city was formed by combining Princess Anne County's seven-member county leadership with the small city of Virginia Beach's four-member town council.
The legislators, responding to a referendum held in May 1994, also required that a second election be held next spring to allow voters to decide whether to move to a ward system.
Although the districts are used almost exclusively for only two purposes - establishing voting districts for City Council and School Board members - the language of the law passed by the General Assembly applies only to the City Council. That's likely to be amended next year to include the School Board in any changes as well.
For the past 33 years, seven council members have lived in and represented different geographic areas of the consolidated city, although all 11 council members are elected by voters citywide. Now, the City Council must approve new districts evening out the population among the boroughs.
They will make their decision after looking at alternatives presented by the public. So far, only Atkinson and Jackson have presented plans. The council will hold a public hearing Tuesday to hear from the public about the two plans or suggestions for others.
Councilwoman Louisa M. Strayhorn said she is still considering whether to submit a district map of her own. The Planning Department is scheduled to accept plans only through Monday.
E. George Minns, head of the Virginia Beach chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said he does not plan to submit a new map.
The NAACP tried two years ago to draw new districts that would guarantee better representation for the city's minority groups. But because African-Americans, Filipinos and other minorities are spread throughout the city, it was not possible to create any so-called majority minority districts.
Minns said he now does not care how the districts are drawn, as long as they are equally populated. He also supports plans to have a ward system, which, he said will help bring new voices to the council.
``The bottom line is I don't care how you draw those lines,'' he said. ``It's not going to kill the people's concerns, nor is it going to solve their problems. Draw the lines as equal and move on to the real issues.''
Former City Councilman Paul J. Lanteigne, who drew up a proposal when changing the districts was considered last year, said he will not be resubmitting his district map, because he is ``out of the politics business.''
Lanteigne, a chief deputy in the Sheriff's office, said his philosophy in drawing up the map was to stick as closely as possible to the original districts, which had been approved in the late 1960s by the Supreme Court.
His districts would not have had an equal population, but the differences would have been smaller than under the current system. He proposed, for instance, combining the Pungo and Blackwater boroughs and dividing Kempsville into two.
Maury Jackson's proposal would also do those things, but it would also equalize the population of the seven districts. He is a strong advocate of wards and helped put the question of reapportionment before the voters in May 1994.
Atkinson said he submitted his plan as a citizen, not the city treasurer, and worked out the districts out of ``curiosity'' to see how it could be done.
The philosophy behind his lines is that the Beach's many assets should be divided among as many council members as possible so that several members will need to concern themselves with the oceanfront, the central business district, the military bases and the farmland.
He said he objects to the district, under Jackson's plan, that would combine Pungo, Blackwater and half of Princess Anne, comprising roughly half the land mass of the city. That would create a ``fiefdom,'' Atkinson said, and could lead to an abuse of council power.
``It would not offer the chance for diverse thought,'' he said.
To avoid politics, Atkinson also drew his lines so that no two council members were put into the same district.
Atkinson's goal was to figure out how to ``hook'' the council members, he said, ``but also give them an interest in the city as a whole, not just the square block they live in. . . . We have a city to run, not just a neighborhood.''
Strayhorn, who held a town meeting Thursday night to discuss the changing council districts, said she has heard concerns from constituents about what the new districts might do to neighborhoods. If Green Run is split between two council districts, for instance, the subdivision could gain power because it would fall within the turf of two council members, or it could lose power because its voting block would be diluted, she said.
The Glenwood neighborhood fought against the redistricting of school districts, which would have divided neighborhood children, and may not want to be divided into two council districts, Strayhorn said.
She said she will decide over the weekend whether to draw up a proposal of her own to take to council reflecting these concerns.
Tuesday's public hearing will take place during the regular council meeting, scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. in council chambers. ILLUSTRATION: Map\The Virginian-Pilot
Existing Boroughs
by CNB