On June 22nd the Fairfax Board of Governors appointed their 2021 Redistricting Advisory Committee. The Committee is tasked with recommending proposed new elections districts to the Board which will ultimately determine the new districts that will be adopted. As the country inches closer to the 2022 midterm elections the Committee will be essential in ensuring the elections are fair and are not gerrymandered. Gerrymandering, the practice utilized to create drawing districts that favor a particular political party or racial group. This practice not only skews election results but it leads many Americans to feel their voices don’t matter and affects political participation in the long term.
The committee was careful;;y chosen with its members serving as representatives of specific communities and districts. The Committee includes representatives from each of the nine currently existing Board of Supervisors' districts; representatives for the county at-large; representatives from African-American, Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander community and Arab-American communities; and representatives from the Federation of Citizens Associations; League of Women Voters; Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce and Northern Virginia Labor Federation.
The new Committee members are:
Paul Berry, Chairman (At-Large)
Lisa Sales, At-Large
Bill Bouie, At-Large
Prashanth Rajan, Braddock District
Jimmy Bierman, Dranesville District
Richard Chew, Hunter Mill District
Bryon Garner, Lee District
Alis Wang, Mason District
Hon. Gerry Hyland, Mount Vernon District
Hon. Linda Smyth, Providence District
Paul Liberty, Springfield District
Sam Walker, Sully District
Tim Thompson, Fairfax County Federation of Citizens Associations
Anne Kanter, League of Women Voters
Karen Campblin, African-American Community
Maya Castillo, Hispanic Community
Silvia Patton, Asian/Pacific Islander Community
Saif Rahman, Arab-American Community
Scott Price, Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce
George Becerra, Northern Virginia Labor Federation
For more information on the Committee visit the Fairfax County Government site.
