THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, April 19, 1996 TAG: 9604180148
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 05 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KAREN WEINTRAUB, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 64 lines
Al Balko fought for a new system of electing City Council members, but now, the grandfather of redistricting isn't happy with the product of his labor.
Balko, who has tried for years to change the system of electing the city's leaders, said the new voting district map the council approved this winter would weaken his neighborhood.
Under the new district lines - created to equalize the number of residents in each of the seven boroughs - Balko's Inlynnview neighborhood would be moved from the Lynnhaven to the Beach borough.
``At the present time we have one council member who represents our area,'' said Balko, who has tried twice to win the Lynnhaven Borough seat on the council. ``This thing splits it, taking a third away. . . Someone on the other side of the street has a different councilman.''
A flier that Balko said he has circulated to 500 neighbors makes even stronger accusations about the impact of the new district lines.
The trouble is, the flier's wrong.
It suggests that the new district lines also will affect school district boundary lines.
``Being cut out of certain schools would have a profound effect on the value of our homes,'' the flier reads.
But that's not true.
There is no relationship between voting district lines and school district lines, Kenneth B. Lumpkin, longtime demographer for the Virginia Beach school district, said Wednesday.
``We do not redraw school boundaries to comply with political boundaries,'' Lumpkin said. ``We never have. We never will. School boundaries are drawn to meet the needs of where students are housed.''
Under the current system, the new district lines will affect only where people cast their ballots, city officials said.
If voters on May 7 change the city's election system from an at-large to a ward system, as Balko wants, then the voting district lines become slightly more important. Under a ward system, residents would only vote for the four at-large council members and the representative of their district. Now, residents vote for all 11 council members regardless of where they live.
``These lines make absolutely no difference (to anyone) with the exception of whoever might want to run for council,'' Blackwater Borough council member John A. Baum said Wednesday.
Balko and several supporters plan to make their case before the full City Council on Tuesday at the end of the meeting. This week, at an informal session several council members said they would be willing to hear Balko's concerns but did not expect to change the district lines.
The council approved the new lines in February after about four months of discussions and revisions. The final version had been developed only a few days before it was approved, but council members said the last-minute changes were minor and the public had plenty of time to submit new plans. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Balko
KEYWORDS: REDISTRICTING ELECTION
VIRGINIA BEACH CITY COUNCIL
by CNB