Redistricting ensures conflict

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Officials differ on future under plan

By Ben Orcutt -- borcutt@nvdaily.com

FRONT ROYAL -- Local officials have expressed mixed reactions to a pending redistricting plan that would divide Warren County into three House of Delegates districts.
On Tuesday, 18th District Del. Clifford L. "Clay" Athey Jr., R-Front Royal, announced that he would not seek a sixth term in the fall.

When polled on Friday, members of the Warren County Board of Supervisors and the Front Royal Town Council had differing opinions about the proposal.

"Well, I much prefer that that were not going to happen but I don't really feel that I've had an awful lot of influence in the matter so we just have to take what comes I suppose," said Board of Supervisors Vice Chairman Glenn L. White. "I just wonder whether or not, and I'm not being critical here, but I just wonder whether or not if Clay had not decided not to run for re-election that the thinking would be going that way."

The supervisors' chairman, Archie A. Fox, had the opposite view.

"Without knowing the exact details of the redistricting, it would appear to me that Warren County will receive better representation than before," Fox said.

Currently, the 18th District is comprised of all of Warren County and portions of Fauquier and Frederick counties. Under the plan pending before the House, the 18th District would include all of Rappahannock County and portions of Culpeper, Fauquier and Warren counties.

The precincts in Warren County that would remain in the 18th District are East Shenandoah, Happy Creek, Linden and South River.

Under the new redistricting plan, the 15th District, now represented by Republican Del. Todd Gilbert, would have all of Page and Shenandoah counties, a portion of Rockingham County and a portion of Warren County.

Gilbert's Warren County precincts under the new plan would be Bentonville, Browntown, Fork Town, Otterburn and Waterlick.

If the plan is approved, Republican Del. Beverly J. Sherwood's 29th District would include all of the city of Winchester, portions of Frederick County and the remaining precincts in Warren County.

Shenandoah District Supervisor Richard H. "Dick" Traczyk is among those who said they didn't like the plan.

"I think it dilutes the county too much," Traczyk said. "I think that each of the representatives will probably spend less time with our concerns because they'll be less people involved than when Clay had the entire county. He would be basically responsible for all of them. Now it's going to be a little piece of this, a little piece of that. I just don't think it's a good idea to separate it that small."

Mayor Timothy W. Darr spoke in a similar vein.

"I just think it's going to be more complicated," Darr said. "Before, when you had issues, you could call Clay and he could work them out for you. Now I guess when you have issues in certain parts of the town and county, you're going to have to look at exactly what part it is to know whether you call Mr. Gilbert or Ms. Sherwood. I mean that would be the only problem I would have. It was nice from the town's standpoint to be able to call Clay and know that he could work with you and get back with you on issues, whereas now you're going to have to see where the actual issue lies within the three districts before you can get support."

Councilman Thomas E. Conkey is taking a wait-and-see approach.

"Well, you've got the glass half-full, glass half-empty kind of thing," Conkey said. "If the county needs help, we've got ... to go to three delegates and that's certainly going to be a problem. On the other hand, if we need help, we now have three delegates who can help us, which may be a good thing. So honestly I don't know how it's going to pan out."

Councilman Carson C. Lauder Jr. had a different take.

"It's going to be an interesting situation, especially in this time if the people in Front Royal decided to move the elections from May to November, with a new person in the area and new goings-on with council, they'll be a lot of voting in November and different issues," Lauder said.

Like some of the other officials, Councilman Thomas H. Sayre thinks the plan is a bad idea.

"I think splitting Warren County into three pies is not the greatest move for the citizens of Warren County," said Sayre, who added that he would live in the 29th District, which would be next to the 18th District.

"Locally, it might be politically disruptive because of all of the political state lines here and there," Sayre said. "Overall, I think Warren County's political clout will be diminished in Richmond. We need a strong town council and mayor to keep Front Royal's interests front and center and protected."