Nothing fair about it
Virginia voters are being asked to approve a state Constitutional Amendment on April 21 intended to create the most gerrymandered congressional election districts in the history of the Commonwealth. Botetourt County would be removed from its current district that runs from Roanoke to Winchester and placed in a district that runs from Lee County in extreme Southwest Virginia to Highland County, creating a complete misalignment with Botetourt’s current area of economic, political and cultural interests. Roanoke would be placed in a long, dog leg-shaped district that runs east to Lynchburg and then north to Charlottesville.
Just five years ago 66 percent of Virginia voters approved a state Constitutional Amendment to create a bipartisan commission to draw fair, balanced, election districts, free of partisan manipulation. Under the current congressional districting plan, there are five elected Republicans and six elected Democrats. That plan has resulted in a 55 percent Democrat majority of the state’s congressional representation. Former Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, was elected with 51 percent of the statewide vote. Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat, was very recently elected governor with 58 percent of the statewide vote. It doesn’t take a math major to see that the current 55/45 partisan split in the state’s congressional representation is a reasonable reflection of state voting patterns. Hence the state’s current districting plan is presumed just and fair.
The Virginia General Assembly’s current mad dash plan for a NEW Constitutional Amendment, only five years after voters approved the recent amendment that was intended to foster bipartisan districting, would result in the opposite of clear voter preference and create a wildly partisan plan that is expected to produce 10 democratic congressional representatives and one Republican. That would result in 91 percent Democrat Party representation in the Virginia delegation.
How is that possible in a state that occasionally votes over 50 percent Democrat in statewide elections and occasionally votes over 50 percent Republican? The answer is actually quite simple. It is by creating an extreme partisan redistricting plan that establishes odd elongated or otherwise contorted districts with minority Republican make up, except for one throw away Republican stronghold district that runs from Lee County to Highland County and snatches Botetourt as it passes south to north. Welcome to the New General Assembly plan for democracy and fair representation in the Commonwealth.
The ballot language concocted by our esteemed General Assembly reads in part to “allow the General Assembly to… restore fairness in the upcoming election.” What hypocrisy coming from the longest continuously sitting elected body in the Western Hemisphere! There is nothing fair about it. There is, however, great hubris on the part of the General Assembly that has now become an embarrassment to a once great Commonwealth. There is also an assumption on the part of the General Assembly that the voters in the state are stupid enough, or at least ill informed enough, not to recognize what a farce this partisan effort has become. There will be millions of dollars spent to convince the voters that an obvious unfair and absurdly partisan redistricting plan is “fair.” The word “propaganda” readily comes to mind.
Don’t be fooled or manipulated by slick and misleading advertising. Please vote NO on the proposed state Constitutional Amendment on April 21, or vote early at the Registrar’s Office in Fincastle beginning on March 6.
John B Williamson, III
Buchanan, On behalf of the Botetourt County Republican Committee
Comments on proposed solar farm near Fincastle
What you do with your own property is your business. Or is it if it affects your neighbors? One of our neighbors has requested a solar farm be built on his property off of Route 220 near Fincastle.
While a project of this scale – 33 acres – will provide an insignificant amount of electricity to the grid (or to Google?), the environmental impact will be significant. The creation of solar panels is an energy-intensive process. It involves mining quartz, purifying it into silicon at very high temperatures using fossil fuels, and processing with hazardous chemicals like hydrofluoric acid. Panels may also contain toxic metals such as lead and cadmium that can leach into the soil.
The heat generated by panels can alter local temperature and humidity. This, combined with soil compaction from construction and altered water runoff patterns, can degrade soil health, promote erosion, and make it difficult for native plant species to survive. The reflective surface of panels can create a “lake effect,” tricking birds into fatally diving into them (frush.us/solar).
There are many other concerns, such as noise from the inverters, the loss of natural views, safe disposal after their 25-year lifespan, and nearby property devaluation. (A 2024 study by LSU found property values within a mile of a solar farm decreased by 2.5% to 5.8%.) Loss of farmland is becoming a national crisis. Virginia alone has lost 500,000 acres of farmland in the last five years.
If you are opposed to this project let your planning commissioner and your supervisor know. The Planning Commission will be addressing the project at their March 9 meeting at 6 p.m. And it will be addressed at the next Board of Supervisors meeting on March 24 at 2 p.m.
Charles Ruhl
Fincastle
