A Republican member of Congress is raising some eyebrows in Northern Virginia with his push to make Arlington and Alexandria a part of D.C., taking 400,000 residents’ votes away from the more politically competitive Virginia and lumping them in with the already deep-blue District.
Georgia Rep. Rich McCormick introduced the “Make D.C. Square Again Act” on the heels of Virginia’s special election Tuesday on a gerrymandered map that could give Democrats a 10-1 seat advantage in the House of Representatives and potentially tip the balance of power in the congressional chamber.
Voters approved the new map by about 100,000 votes, with 98% of the total vote counted as of Friday evening. However, a judge blocked Virginia from certifying those results and enacting the new congressional map.
McCormick’s bill would return the two Virginia jurisdictions back to D.C., as it was until the 1840s.
Until then, President George Washington had designed D.C. to be a near perfect 10-mile square.
McCormick said his bill would put an end to the redistricting debate in the commonwealth.
“That has warped the system since then. If you think about it, that’s what’s caused all this consternation,” McCormick said in a social media video. “Give back Virginia exactly what it should have, give D.C. what it should have, and get this thing right.”
WTOP asked some residents who were enjoying a beautiful late Thursday afternoon at the waterfront in Old Town Alexandria about the plan, which caused many to scratch their heads.
“No, no, no, no, that’s not fair,” Amanda Tucker said. “He only wants to because it didn’t go the way that he wanted to go. So my vote, of course, no.”
Tucker’s significant other, Terrence Augustus, admitted he was caught off guard.
“I had to think about that. I really don’t know,” Augustus said. “When we were talking about Maryland, I would say no.”
As the two talked it over, Augustus pointed out D.C. and Virginia have “a logical separation.”
“The bridge and everything else in the Potomac River, leave it in Virginia and not back in D.C.,” Augustus said.
As the couple enjoyed the rest of the evening at Waterfront Park, people were having dinner outside at nearby restaurants. Others were playing with their kids and walking their dogs, including Terri, who was with her 130-pound Great Pyrenees.
“I lived in D.C. for three years prior, and you seem to have the same demographic here that is in D.C. — which is not a pro, that’s not a con, that’s just a neutral statement,” Terri said.
Terri, who was aware Arlington and Alexandria were once part of the District, didn’t think she could answer if they should return.
“I don’t know how long I’m going to be staying here,” Terri said. “I do like it here. … It’s great, and it’s a very dog-friendly community.”
Walking from where the water taxi dropped and picked people up was Carla Thomas, who said on this topic, she had “skin in the game.”
“My family … has been here since there was a D.C.,” Thomas said. “Indentured people came to St. Mary’s, married African American freed women.”
Thomas said she has lived all around the D.C. region — from being born in D.C., growing up in Montgomery County, Maryland, and now calling Alexandria home.
“I’m a liberal Democrat, and I think that this is an important pocket in Northern Virginia that I wouldn’t like to see ceded back to D.C., because it would dilute the political strength of Democrats in this commonwealth,” Thomas said.
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