Evening star., 1950-11-12
Fairfax Redistrictinq
Voters Expressed Desire to Continue
Present Method Of EIecting Supervisors
By jones BirchfieId


The problem Of how to give
Fairfax County's rapidly growing
urban areas greater voice in
government was left unsolved by
a government reform plan adopted
overwhelmingly last week by
voters in a county referendum.
Hard after the election, how
ever, advocates of the defeated
manager form served notice that
q move would be made to reform
the county's magisterial districts
along population lines. This would
give to the urban areas greater
representation on the Board of
Supervisors.
In selecting the county execu-
tive government form by a
1,708-vote majority over a county
manager plan, Fairfax County
voters expressed in no uncertain
terms their desire to maintain
the present district method of
electing members of the Board of
Supervisors.
This means that, as at present
under the modified constitutional
form of government. supervisors
will be elected by the ballots only
of the voters in their respective
districts. The county manager
form would have made supervisors
from all districts answerable to
the people of the county at large,
and would have provided a greater
opportunity for the voters in the
thickly populated districts to ex-
press their desires in government.
Inequalities Argued
This method of representation
provided the basis for a bitter
campaign waged between advo-
Gates of the manager and execu-
tive forms. The manager group,
coming mostly from the urban
districts, called for a voice in
county government in proportion
to their population. 1t was
claimed that under the district
method of electing supervisors the
three districts with 81 per cent
of the population had no greater
voice in government than the
three districts having only II per
cent of the population.
A move for redistricting would
solve, to a great extent, the in
ecualities in representation. While
no definite plan yet has been ad-
vanced, it is generally agreed that
any plan would SO shift district
lines so as to equalize the popu-
lation in all of the magisterial
districts.
One idea would be to create
three new magisterial districts in
the county by dividing the three
present urban districts. This
would provide a Board of Super
visors consisting of nine members
three from the rural areas and
six from the heavily populated
areas.
Such plan, it has been stated,
would give the urban areas. or the
areas of greater population, more
voice in government and at the
same time would assure continued
representation in the three rural
districts.
One of the most important ar
guments against the county man
ager government form was that,
by the election of supervisors at
large, it tended to destroy district
lines. It was argued that under
this form it might be possible for
the people of one or two thickly
populated districts to control the
Board of Supervisors by naming
and electing to the board the can
didates they wanted in the rural
areas.
Redistricting Procedure
Under redistricting, this threat
to rural representation would be
eliminated.
A move for redistricting, like
the move for government reform,
must come from the people in the
form of a petition to the judge of
the Circuit Court. Unlike the law
providing for changing the gov
ernment. however. the act of re-
districting is left to the discretion
Of the judge.
While the law providing for
government changes stated that
the Circuit Court judge shall, on
receipt Of petition signed by 10
per cent Of the qualified voters,
set a referendum on the change,
the law providing for redistricting
states that the Judge may. upon
receipt of a petition signed by SO
qualified voters. call for redis-
tricting.
There is, therefore, nothing in
the law which would require the
Circuit Court judge to act on a