VA AFL-CIO Urges Opposition to Sneak Senate Redistricting Plan

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)The Virginia State Senate on Monday “jammed through a new redistricting plan without hearings, without notice, and without public input,” reports the Virginia State AFL-CIO. Legislators were allowed only 30 minutes to consider a 36-page “purely partisan redistricting plan” the Virginia state fed says. The plan, which moves over 2.7 million people into new state senate districts, “could theoretically flip seven seats,” the state fed adds. The bill – SB259 – now goes to the House of Delegates and if successful, to Gov. McDonnell’s desk for consideration. "The GOP action disgraced the Martin Luther King Jr holiday" said NoVA Labor President Dan Duncan (right), explaining that the vote took place on the holiday to keep Democratic Senator and civil rights activist Henry Marsh, who was attending President Obama's inauguration, from tipping the balance of the votes. The state fed is urging Virginia residents to contact House delegates urging them to "oppose this mockery of our democratic process." - photo by Chris Garlock

NOTE: This report has been updated to reflect the correct spelling of Senator Marsh’s last name; we had misspelled it March.