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According to a 3-judge Federal panel, WV's Congressional Districts must be adjusted because the Legislature's redistricting plan did not adequately adjust for the approximately 60,000 more residents in the WV-02 then in WV-03. Minimal adjustments to WV-01 (northern West Virginia) are also necessary. The judges ruled that the WV legislature must pass a redistricting plan, with an equal number of residents in each district, by January 17 or the judges will implement a plan and have suggested the "Perfect Plan" or Cooper Plan 4. As the judges noted, they chose not to decide the issue of WV-02 compactness in their decision.
The logical solution would be to move 30,000 residents from WV-02 into WV-03 and make the necessary minor adjustments to WV-01. Solutions based on this would conform to the need to balance the population between the districts. Yet most of the solutions being offered, including the "Perfect Plan" and Cooper Plan 4, involve splitting WV-01 (northern WV) in half.
Northern West Virginia should not be used as the spoils in a battle between Charleston and the Eastern Panhandle! Although there is mention in the judges' opinion concerning whether a plan should consider if incumbents Capito and McKinley would be forced to run against each other, I do not support a plan that would produce a contest between them. This is not the time for partisanship; it's the time to ensure that the residents of northern WV are not used as pawns and are not denied the right to elect a Congressman due to a population problem between WV-02 and WV-03.
Why are there no maps of the various proposals available for public review? Apparently there are maps including "Perfect Plan", Cooper Plan 4, Snyder Plan that are being discussed but why aren't these available for the public to see what is being proposed? Is this being done to make sure people don't realize what is happening until it's too late? Although at some point it might make sense to create WV's three Congressional districts with respect to the three population centers: Charleston-Huntington, Eastern Panhandle and Morgantown-Fairmont-Clarksburg, this does not seem to be the time. At this point, it makes more sense to make the minor county and possible precinct adjustments necessary to comply with the January 17 deadline. There is not time for public comment that should be a requirement of any plan that would dismantle one Congressional district (WV-01), especially since the major population discrepancies that created this situation are between the other two districts: WV-02 and WV-03.
There is no reason to divide northern West Virginia unless the real goal is to disenfranchise northern West Virginia voters! Why is northern WV being targeted? Why are the residents of WV-01 (northern WV) expected to lose their ability to elect a Congressman to represent their interests because the number of residents in WV-02 and WV-03 is extremely unbalanced? It is understandable that the Eastern Panhandle wouldn't want to be in the same Congressional district with Charleston so they have the ability to elect a Congressman to represent their interests. However, the solution to that problem is not to split northern WV, with one section going with Charleston and the other section going with the Eastern Panhandle. There is no reason to split northern WV between two different Congressional districts unless it is an intentional act to destroy political power in the northern part of the state.
There are questions that must be asked. Is there something more sinister going on here than simple population juggling? Is there a deliberate attempt to destroy the continuity (and the activist base) of the 1st Congressional District? The 1st district is ground zero for activism against Marcellus Shale industrialization of our rural areas and for the rights of surface owners. It is the only district where you will find citizens not only speaking out, but also organizing against the political machine that has controlled WV government for far too long. This is the district that recruited its own candidate to stand up to the ALEC-backed political machine.
All of us need to take a closer look at the redistricting issue before another decision is made for us. Are we willing to give up and let the Legislature make another botched attempt or turn the decision over to a panel of judges without voicing our concerns and offering our own plans?
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