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where Democrat Norman Sisisky is the current representative.
But whatever jiggling is done must take into account that three districts that include all of Northern Virginia, the 10th, 8th and 7th, have 110,000 or more people at present than the 557,715 that constitute the ideal population of a new congressional district in a state that has approximately 6.1 million people, give or take a few thousand here and there.
Democrats will do whatever is possible to protect incumbents such as Pickett, Sisisky, Jim Moran in the 8th, L.F. Payne in the 5th, and others, but putting in the black majority district will make that task more difficult—as attested by the fact the state Republican Party is pushing for such a district though many individual Republicans consider it a betrayal of principle. Yet, the fact is, any plan without a black majority district probably can’t pass Justice Department or federal court muster.
If you’d like to draw your own plan just for the heck of it, you should write the Division of Legislative Services, Virginia General Assembly, Richmond, Va. 23219 and ask them to send you the publication, “Drawing the Line - 1991 Redistricting in Virginia.” It includes population figures locality by locality for each of the present congressional districts and offers something for the politically inclined to do on rainy afternoons.
(Editor’s note: John Goolrick, a former political reporter, is an aide to 7th District U.S. Rep. D. French Slaughter Jr. Opinions expressed are his oum.)
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