Evening star., 1941-08-21
Arlington TO Get
Three Places
In Assembly
County's Rapid Growth
Recognized in Report
On Reupportionment

Vii NSSHPS'
Arlington County representation
in the Virginia Legislature is in
creased from one to two delegates
in the House and the county is given
a separate senator in the Fuller
Redistricting Commission report
prepared for the 1912 General AS
sembly which opens in January.
In recognition of the rapid growth
of the county since the 1880 census,
the commission proposed to sepa-
rate it from the remainder of the
29th district and allot one senator
to Arlington and one to the other
sections, Alexandria, Fairfax and
Prince William counties.
The commissions report also rec
commended that Roanoke City be
given a separate senator and that
six seats in the House of Dele
gates be redistributed.
The commissions plan, if adopted
by the Legislature, would reduce
the most populous senatorial dis
trict, the present 29th, from $4,000
to 10000, equaling the 18th, COM
posed of Buchanan, Tazewell and
Russell. The reduction would leave
as the largest population per Dele
gate the $4,000 in Henrico County
compared with the present $1,000
in Arlington County.
Addition Held Justified.
Legislators in the nearby Virginia
area were agreed that additional
representation for Arlington County
was justified and probably would
not be opposed by other Senators
or Representatives. The only dan
ger to its being enacted into law,
it was explained by political leaders
here, lay in the defeat of the en-
tire Fuller plan through political
pressure. Redistricting is required
after each decennial census, but
the Virginia State Assembly is
limited by law to AZ Senators and
100 Delegates. Hence increased rep
resentation for one section entails
a cut in others.
Senator William D. Medley, who
now represents the entire 29th dis
trict, but lives in Arlington County,
which is allotted a separate Sena-
tor under he proposed plan, said
the final report. submitted after
hearings on a preliminary report
made last March, was along lines
favored by most of the State legis-
lators in Northern Virginia. Both
he and Delegate Charles R. FenWick,
Arlington County's only delegate
under the present Setup, believed it
had pretty good" chance of being
accepted at the coming session.
Delegate Maurice D. Rosenberg
OF Alexandria agreed that Arling-
ton is entitled to larger representa-
ton, but has suggested another plan
for the new senatorial district.
Rosenberg Plan Varies.
His plan would give a separate
Senator to Arlington, combine Alex
andria and Fairfax in one sena-
torial district, and put Prince Will
liam with the present 28th district,
composed of Fauouier, Loudoun and
Culpeper Counties. This would
make the districts more nearly equal
in population and community OF
interests, he explained.
However, he said he did not in
tend to oppose the plan proposed
by <le commission.
The reshuff1ing to obtain the sep
arate seat for Arlington County
would leave Senators G. E. Heller
of Bedford and I. Paul Wales of
Amherst to fight it out for the single
senatorship from a new district to
be composed of Nelson, Amherst
and Bedford. The House rearrange-
ments would leave II present Dele
gates contesting for six seats.
District Line up Charted.
The district lineup under the
commissions plan, with the number
of Senators or Delegates shown in
parentheses and the final figure in
dicating the population, includes:
Alexandria, Fairfax and Prince
William %, 92,190.
Rockingham, Harrisonburg, Page,
Warren and Rappahannock ID,
73,480.
Augusta, Staunton, Highland and
Bath %, GIFTS.
Richmond City 80, 193,O42.
Arlington %, 57,040
SpotSylvania, Fredericksburg,
Louisa, Orange and Stafford %,
55,833.
Fauquier, Loudoun and Culpeper
%, 54,695.
Frederick, Winchester, Shenandoah
and Clarke Cd, 54,l60.
House.
Fairfax ID, 4O,929; Alexandria
ID, 1888; Clarke, Frederick and
Winchester Cd, 33,262; Arlington
ca, 57040; Augusta and Staunton
CD, 56,109; Stafford and Prince Will
liam %, 27 200; Fauquier ID, 81 ,039;
Shenandoah %, 20,898; Culpeper
and Rappahannock %, 20,573;
Loudoun %, 20,291;, Rockingham
and Harrisonburg CD, 40,057;
Spotsylvania and Fredericksburg
ID, 1871.