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CHARLESTON -- A bill introduced in the House of Delegates will once again call for the establishment of 100 single representative delegate districts in West Virginia.
A Wood County delegate thinks this has a good chance of passing.
House Bill 4002 was introduced in the House last Friday and has been sent to the House's Judiciary Committee for work. Similar bills have been introduced in the Legislature over the past few years, but none has become law.
"Single member districts best exemplify the principle of one person, one vote," the bill states. "Single member districts provide enhanced responsiveness to constituent needs, as the fewer constituents that each delegate represents, the more time and energy a delegate has to devote to their needs.
"Single member districts provide enhanced accountability, as it is easier for citizens to follow the actions of one delegate than to follow the actions of many."
The bill also states single member districts would aid in the implementation of campaign finance reform as these smaller districts would reduce the amount of money needed for candidates to successfully contest elections.
Delegate Frank Deem, R-Wood, is one of the co-sponsors of the bill.
A committee was appointed Wednesday to work on the issue and report back to the full committee, Deem said.
He believes the bill has wide support and is likely to pass in the House.
Deem is one of three delegates that represent the state's 10th District with the others being Republicans John Kelly and Vernon Criss.
The problem is people in the district are never sure which one truly represents them, Deem said.
"The district would be divided into three parts with a delegate for each new district," Deem said. "(Under this bill) the people in my area, Vienna, would know exactly who their representative is."
The other sponsors of the bill are Delegates John Overington, R-Berkeley; Daryl Cowles, R-Morgan; Riley Moore, R-Jefferson; Jordan C. Hill, R-Nicholas; Chuck Romine, R-Cabell; Ron Walters, R-Kanawha; Bill Hamilton, R-Upshur; D. Rolland Jennings, R-Preston; House Speaker Tim Armstead, R-Kanawha; and Zach Maynard, R-Lincoln.
Twenty districts in West Virginia are multi-delegate districts.
The district with the most delegates is the 51st District in Monongalia County where there are five. The others are the 35th in Kanawha County and the 48th in Harrison County with four, the 10th in Wood County, the 16th in Cabell County, the 27th in Mercer County, the 32nd in Fayette County, the 36th in Kanawha County and the 50th in Marion County with three, and the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 13th, 17th, 19th, 22nd, 24th, 28th, 42nd and 43rd with two.
"The State of West Virginia established as a principle that single member delegate districts are needed for better functioning of our state's political system," the bill said. "Their use would lead to greater accountability and effective representation in our political process."
Under the bill, the reapportionment and redistricting of the Legislature would happen following the United States Census in 2020, and in each such succeeding reapportionment and redistricting thereafter. The House of Delegates would be permanently composed of 100 single member districts.
Criss said he has not seen the bill yet but does not support the proposal. He feels there are benefits to having multiple people covering a single district, especially in urban areas where there are a variety of concerns.
The delegates in a single district can come together to discuss issues, such as road projects, and work with the appropriate departments to come up with solutions that can benefit the whole district, Criss said.
He would have to see what the bill entails before deciding whether to support it or not, Criss said.
"We just have to wait and see what comes out," Criss said.
Kelly said he sees benefits both ways, but he doesn't think its impact will be that significant for Wood County.
"We have three delegates in the 10th District now and we work well together," he said. Kelly said he doesn't see that changing as they would continue to work together to benefit all of Wood County.
The first election this would impact would be the one after the 2020 census, which would be 2022.
"It would still be a ways off," Kelly said. "I am not too concerned about it right now."
Kelly said he is not sure yet if he would support the measure if it came to the House floor for a vote.
"I have mixed emotions about it," he said.
In the past, redistricting was prone to partisan politics by both Republicans and Democrats, Deem said. The work being done on the bill would allow a non-partisan commission to be able to divide the state's House and Senate districts, which Deem said would be more "fair and equal."
The bill is still at the beginning of the process and will have some work to get it ready, Deem said.
"It still has a long way to go," he said.