Reading thru the comments in this post over at RK, it is clear that there is a storm brewing between NoVA (Northern Virginia) and RoVA (the rest of Virginia). The disconnect has been a long time in the making and the recent announcement of the Senate committee chairs just adds fuel to the fire. The power shift, as outlined in this Washington Post story, should be a concern of the Democratic Party in Virginia. (For some comments that didn’t make the story, check out this post.)
Take this RK comment, for instance:
NoVA Dems frequently treat us like the retarded cousin at the family reunion. You put up with us because you need us in general, but when it comes time to reward us for our hard work (in Hampton Roads, for example, we contributed JUST AS MUCH to the gains this year as Northern Virginia did), we frequently are ignored.
Northern Virginia Democrats talk down to us because they think we don’t know any better. Frankly, the chair appointments just reinforce that image. You wonder why I frequently rant against NoVA Democrats? It’s crap like the Ticer assignment that make me believe the things I do.
RoVA Democrats shouldn’t have to try to catch the scraps from the NoVA and Richmond Democrats’ plate.
Or how about this one?
But the rest of us downstate Dems are still pretty sure you don’t get it. And that’s fine, friend! All politics are local, and you’re not from the parts of the state we’re talking about here. I mean, heck, y’all are still looking for ways to beat Ken Cuccinelli in your own back yard, just like we’re looking for ways to beat (insert downstate incumbent Republican here). It’s okay for us as activists not to get regions of the state other than our own because we all have plenty of fights here in our own neck of the woods. But while we’re local activists, this is supposed to be a statewide party. If this party wants to “get it,” it would have made sense to put some elected Democrats from out in the political wilderness into meaningful leadership positions.
Rewarding the Dems who have had their seats longest (BECAUSE THEY WERE GERRYMANDERED TO PACK ALL THE DEM VOTERS INTO THOSE DISTRICTS IN THE FIRST PLACE) and then pointing to Roscoe Reynolds as a deputy assistant somethingorother and saying “we have rural friends, too!” is ridiculous. Saslaw ought to be embarrassed (except I’ve heard the guy speak, and it seems like it would take a lot to make him feel embarrassed about saying something).
I broached the subject of the dominance of NoVA in this post from nearly two years ago. What has changed since then? Not a whole lot. (For reference, take a look at the map Kenton did after the November 2006 election.)
Just as the Democratic Party has to stop paying lip service to minorities within the party, so must they also stop only looking to NoVA for everything. If Virginia is going to turn blue, it has to start with inclusiveness of the RoVA.
Let me also say that while I expect that the leadership in the Democratic Party to think in terms of the entire state, I have no such expectation from the blogs. I expect NoVA blogs to be slanted towards NoVA, just as I expect Hampton Roads blogs to be slanted towards Hampton Roads, or Central VA blogs to be slanted towards Central VA. Blog readers: all politics is local. You wouldn’t read the NY Times to find out what’s happening in Florida, now would you?
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
Anyone want to post a comment that helps me (and, presumably, others) understand the divergence between the priorities of NoVA and Hampton Roads?
Your both Democracts and self serving agendas rather than looking at the big picture
I’m sorry, I should have been clearer.
Does anyone with an ounce of sense want to post a comment that helps me (and, presumably, others) understand the divergence between the priorities of NoVA and Hampton Roads?
Yvonne Miller got transportation. That is a biggie. A big, big, biggie. Henry Marsh got Courts of Justice, good news for equal justice and civil rights.
MB – I deleted your duplicate comment.
The argument is not about HR vs NoVA, it’s really about NoVA vs RoVA, which happens to include HR. In all fairness, there isn’t a whole lot of difference in the priorities of HR and NoVA, although there is significant differences between where they are in certain areas, such as transportation. (Take a look at the post I did on light rail. In particular, read thru the MPO report I linked. It lays out glaring differences between the NoVA MPO and that of HR.)
The problem is the urban/rural shift. Yes, Alice is right: HR got some great committee chairmanships. But where is the representation for the rural areas? I mean, you’ve got a NoVA representative chairing the Agriculture committee! Come on! That’s ridiculous.
The rural areas used to have a lock on the chairmanships, and they ignored the urban areas. And look what happened, particularly in the area of transportation. This rural/urban divide is much like the Republican/Democratic divide.
It’s time to put this crap aside and do what’s best for Virginia. That means sharing the power. That would be true leadership.
Well put as always, Vivian.
awhh! you guys can’t play nice can you!
That means sharing the power. That would be true leadership. – I don’t think Dems know how to share power.
Does anyone with an ounce of sense want to post a comment that helps me – It is clear you guys have no vision!
There is also the education funding formula. Hampton Roads schools get most of their money from the State, but NoVa schools get VERY little.
Well, the ridiculousness of an Alexandrian on Agriculture aside, I’m still missing how this puts VA in bad hands, policy-wise.
And as for the rural-urban split, I can’t think of the last time I looked at Virginia and said, “You know what? The rural parts of the state need more influence over how the Commonwealth is run.” They’ve not exactly been locked out of power, I’d say.
In any event, let’s get rid of the Dillion Rule. If we did, I suspect we’d all care a fair bit less about the reindeer games in Richmond.
Rural doesn’t equal Agriculture. Rural is a subset of Agriculture, as it includes Conservation and Natural Resources. I don’t have a problem with a NoVAian heading that committee.
Dem84 – no one is saying that rural=agriculture. But aren’t the serious conversation areas (like those involved in the land conservation credits) in rural areas as well?
AEM – you must be looking at percentages as opposed to raw dollars, right?
And MB – you know I’m right there with you on the Dillon Rule.
Both.
So how long until Republicans start trying to recruit their way back into a majority in the Senate?
Well, I like Patsy Ticer, but I think there might be better ways for her to serve. When I lived in Alexandria, there WAS a farmer’s market, but that’s about the closest connection I see to agriculture.
The urban vs. rural discussion is an interesting one because it is a mirror image of the rural vs. urban discussion I heard living in Northern Virginia 20 years ago. I agree with the comments above, the argument is mainly over roads and schools. The big fight then was whether the localities could even spend their OWN money on roads. (No.)
Hampton Roads can blame itself for its roads problems, however, when it consistently elects myopic blowhards like Leo Wardrup. We get what we’re willing to work for, and Hampton Roads’ history of unchallenged incumbents and one-party rule causes much of our problems.
Uh, you kind of left me hanging at the end there, Spotter. You do know Hampton Roads Dems won every competitive race in 2007 in our neck of the woods, right? 🙂