Gerrymandering is the process of manipulating the drawing of state and federal legislative districts to favor incumbents and the majority party. Gerrymandering of districts has resulted in disenfranchised voters, increased gridlock, dysfunction in the General Assembly and Congress, and has generated voter apathy driving down turnout on Election Day. In the editorial section of the Virginian Pilot today, Mayor Kenny Alexander wrote a compelling commentary on the negative impact gerrymandering has on the redistricting process calling for an end to the archaic practice.
Bob Stephens and Dana Dickens invite you to a meeting 7 PM Thursday, January 12 at the Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts (the Naismith class room) to address working for a nonpartisan independent redistricting commission in the Commonwealth. Please encourage others to attend and feel free to forward this information to everyone you think might be interested. The more voices we have, the louder the noise!
Each of us can make a difference … together we can make a change. We look forward to seeing you Wednesday night.
PS: On Wednesday the 11th at 7 PM, Mayor Alexander and Mayor Sessons will host the showing of a PBS documentary called “GerryRigged: Turning Democracy on its Head at the Batten Center, Virginia Wesleyan College, 1584 Wesleyan Drive | Norfolk, VA 23502. If you missed it in Suffolk in December or know someone who wants to see it, the event is free.
(This post was adapted from an email sent by Dana Dickens)