Nohe Presents Alternative Redistricting Map

Coles District Supervisor Martin Nohe distributed an alternative redistricting map to other members of the Board of County Supervisors Tuesday in an effort to address community concerns and feedback on the redistricting process.

Nohe’s map is based on the county staff’s seven-district alternative map with changes to keep communities from being split into separate districts.

The proposal would keep the Princedale and Ridgedale neighborhoods of Dale City entirely in the Coles district, rather than splitting them between Coles and Neabsco, as in the staff plan. Nohe’s plan also addresses concerns about County Center, keeping it in the Neabsco district rather than moving it to the Occoquan district.

Other major issues that Nohe’s plan addresses are division of the Sudley and Westgate area, and leaving the town of Occoquan in the Occoquan district as it currently is, rather than moving it into the Woodbridge district as it would under the staff plan. 

“Those were the four major sources of concern where there also seemed to be unanimity among the community about what the right solution was and consensus among the board that it was a problem that needed to be addressed,” Nohe said.

Nohe presented the map to the public on Monday in a town hall meeting, where it met with broad approval, particularly from residents who had expressed concerns over the staff map. Dale City residents Erick VanNortwick and Connie Moser supported Nohe’s plan. VanNortwick and Moser were among the most vocal Dale City residents in asking the board to make changes to the redistricting plan. 

Moser said she would send an email to members of the Board of County Supervisors supporting Nohe’s map. Other residents present at the town hall meeting said they would send similar messages.

In Tuesday's Board of County Supervisors meeting, Chairman Corey Stewart thank supervisors Nohe and John Stirrup (Gainesville) for their work on the redistricting plan. 

"We want to put those neighborhoods back together so that they can be adequately represented," said Stewart. 

Stewart said that he thinks the new map solves major problems that the other 7th and 8th district maps created. 

The board will adopt a redistricting plan in a special meeting on Monday evening, a month ahead of the originally scheduled vote due to an error by the Board of Elections in communicating redistricting requirements to the Board of County Supervisors.

The public will have a chance to comment at the meeting Monday evening, and Nohe said the board will be prepared to make changes throughout the night if necessary.

To view Nohe's alternative map, and all of the currently proposed alternatives, visit the county website at www.pwcgov.org/redistricting.

Woodbridge Patch editor Lauren Jost contributed to this report.