By Heather Michon, correspondent
The Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 on Wednesday night (Dec. 15) to adopt Redistricting Map 5, Scenario 2. This map keeps the current districts but moves the boundaries of Columbia and Fork Union west into the more populous areas around Lake Monticello.
At previous meetings, supervisors had been split over the number of districts, with Chair Mike Sheridan supporting seven districts, Donald Weaver and Patricia Eager on record for six, and Tony O’Brien and Mozell Booker in favor of five.
During the discussion on Wednesday night, Eager said she had supported the six-district plan because she felt it gave Lake Monticello two representatives. However, after hearing so many comments from Lake residents opposed to six districts, she said “it seems like people didn’t want that.”
Booker, Eager, and O’Brien voted in favor of Map 5-2, with Sheridan and Weaver voting against the motion. The resolution now goes to Richmond for approval by the Attorney General and will likely go into effect in early 2022.
