Bluefield Daily Telegraph, Bluefield, WV

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July 29, 2011

Reshaping political bounds — Mercer legislators prepare to return to Charleston

BILL ARCHER Bluefield Daily Telegraph

PRINCETON —  Mercer County legislators are preparing to head to Charleston Monday to reshape the political landscape for at least the next 10 years. The west Virginia State Senate Redistricting Task Force met in Mercer County last week and received important insights from the public.

Acting Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin has called a special session for redistricting to start on Aug. 1. State Senator Mark Wills, D-Mercer, said that the overwhelming consensus among the public attending the task force meeting was that all of Mercer County should be included in one senatorial district.

“My goal is to try to make Mercer County whole again,” Wills said. “That’s what I heard from the people. Of course, whenever you make one move, it affects other districts. That can change in a heartbeat.”

Wills said that before the task force meeting, he had heard some people say that Mercer County should have four senators. “It appeared to me that the consensus of the public at the task force meeting was that they want Mercer County made whole.

“At this point, there is not a final map,” Wills said. “There is no agreement as to what the senatorial districts are going to look like. There is some conflict, but that’s the nature of the beast. I’m sure there will be spirited debate as to what senatorial districts will look like.”

Wills said that the task force meeting in Mercer County amazed him. “When were there 9 state senators in Mercer County all at the same time?” Wills said. “This group is committed to keeping the process open.” Wills said that redistricting may cause him to have to run for re-election in a different area, “But redistricting isn’t just about me,” he said. “It’s about the people.”

State Delegate Marty Gearheart, R-Mercer, said that the task force meeting reinforced his opinion that Mercer County should be divided up into three-plus delegate districts. “There would have to be a plan that I haven’t seen yet that would make me change my opinion on multi-delegate districts,” Gearheart said.

Gearheart said that he informally counted 20 people who spoke in support of single delegate districts and only two who spoke out in support of multi-delegate districts. “The only reason for multi-delegate districts is political,” Gearheart said. “The house of delegates is modeled after the house of representatives in Congress. A multi-delegate district is outside of the federal model.”

Gearheart said that he was impressed by the “100 percent consensus” of support for unifying Mercer County into one senatorial district. “It is tradition that the house simply passes whatever the senate does in terms of senate districts, but I would have to vote no to any proposal that would split Mercer County up like it was 10 years ago.”

State Delegate John R. Frazier, D-Mercer, a member of the house redistricting committee said that nothing he heard during the task force meeting in Mercer County changed his opinion about multi-delegate districts.

“I believe the multi-delegate district does the best for us in Mercer County,” Frazier said. “I think it works well for us. We have a community of interest.” Frazier said that Mercer County is compact and concise with people who are generally conservative and pro-business. “We have access to the people we serve through our transportation network and media. People are held accountable.”

Frazier said that he agrees with comments made by Bob Holroyd at the task force meeting when he said that speaking with a united voice is more powerful than as separate districts in the same county. “I understand the rationale behind single delegate districts, but there are advantages to having three delegates from one district.”

In addition to the redistricting issue, Frazier predicted that the legislature might lower the sales tax and address the coal severance tax issue. “That won’t help us much in Mercer County, but it will help folks in McDowell and Wyoming counties,” he said.

— Contact Bill Archer at barcher@bdtonline.com

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