Earlier today, eight Virginia citizens were selected to serve their Commonwealth as members of the very first bipartisan redistricting commission in our state’s history.
We would first like to thank the over 1,200 individuals who submitted their applications to exercise their newfound right to have a direct influence on this important process.
Our organization is also grateful to the Department of Legislative Services for their efforts in processing the applications, and to the selection committee who thoughtfully considered these candidates over the past days and weeks. We echo the many comments made by the panelists on the high caliber of applicants.
We found today’s public meeting to be thorough, fair and deliberative, and we were particularly gratified that the discussions were squarely focused on making the commission diverse in terms of geography, racial background, ethnicity and gender identity.
OneVirginia2021 is pleased with the final makeup of the Virginia Redistricting Commission. These 16 individuals represent the Commonwealth’s demographic makeup in many significant ways -- from BIPOC representation to a range of ages represented to commissioners from every corner of Virginia.
And although we would have liked a more even split of commissioners in terms of gender identity, we recognize that no group of 16 can fully represent every community. In the end, this commission will be the most diverse group of people to ever redraw district lines in Virginia’s history.
Now that the public input phase has begun, our focus turns to ensuring that this commission hears from as many voices as possible and that we work to empower communities to be involved with every aspect of the redistricting decisions to come.
###