Results, History Call for Parity

I have no doubt that my Republican colleagues come to Richmond to, from their perspective, do what is best for the Commonwealth just as I am confident that my Democratic colleagues are serving the needs of Virginians. In my experience, the best way to accomplish this mutual goal is to work together, to find commonalities and to resolve differences through honest dialogue and compromise. Last year's General Assembly budget is an excellent example of both sides working together to create a blueprint that serves Virginians.

With this in mind, it is particularly disappointing that the Senate Republicans will not consider any form of parity or power sharing. Election night results gave us an evenly divided Senate, with 20 Republicans and 20 Democrats elected. Fewer than 300 votes separated Bryce Reeves, the Republican victor, from the incumbent Democrat he defeated. In other words, the difference between a Democratic majority and parity was less than 300 votes over the hundreds of thousands cast. But, that's how elections work and we Democrats are not in the majority and do not expect to control the Senate. Though the margin was tiny, we lost the majority and we accept that. The reality, however, is that we are not in the minority and neither are the Republicans. Therefore, neither party should serve as the majority or as the minority. The power structure in the Senate should resemble those evenly divided results. Power sharing is the only reasonable, equitable solution.

This concept, that an evenly divided Senate should be governed in a power sharing system, is not new. As a matter of fact, the Republicans rightly insisted on this when the Senate was last evenly divided in 1995. While Democrats, then the party who had been in the majority, may have attempted to hold on to power, the Republicans were correct to insist that the election results were sacrosanct and should be respected. Senator Joe Benedetti (R-Richmond) said at the time, “We've got parity. We're entitled to 50% of the committee chairmanships and 75 of the 150 committee assignments.” (Washington Times, 12/13/95).

Then-Governor Allen, the leader of the Virginia Republican party acknowledged, “[The power sharing agreement] is consistent with what [voters] decided on during the election which was a 20-20 split.” (Washington Times, 1/13/96) The governor continued, “This is reflective of the balance and equity that should be accorded the election results.”(Daily Press, 1/13/96)

This year, with a parallel situation, Virginians have also stated a preference for power-sharing and parity. In a scientific poll taken last month, by the well-respected polling firm PPP (Public Policy Polling), over half of respondents, 55%, believe that power should be shared in the Virginia State Senate, including a plurality of independents. These Virginia voters, constituents of both Democrats and Republicans, recognize that the Election Day results created an evenly divided Senate and, therefore, the Senate should organize in a way reflective of those results.

This issue should not need to be resolved by a lawsuit or by any outside intervention. State Senators, Democrats and Republicans, need to come together and determine a power-sharing agreement that best serves Virginians. This will not only reflect the election results, this will result in better governing.

Being in the Virginia State Senate is not about accumulation of power and should not be about trying to accrue power just for the sake of control. It should be ? and needs to be ? about improving Virginians' lives, addressing the serious issues we face in the Commonwealth. An arrogant power grab that is not responsive to the results will not create jobs or solve the transportation crisis. Power will not create better public schools or ensure that health care is affordable and accessible.

Claiming a majority and ramming through one party control will not help us resolve the very big and serious issues coming before the Senate. Uranium mining is a complicated issue that will impact Virginia in numerous ways in the years to come. While it may provide inexpensive energy, will that happen at the cost of public health and the safety or our waterways? Democrats and Republicans, rural, suburban and urban legislators, Senators from every part of the state need to work together to resolve this thorny and complex issue and other complicated issues in a positive way. That happens best when we can actually work together, when we make solutions and resolution our goal, not power and authority.

I would hope, in the next few days, as the legislature comes into Session, that the Democrats and Republicans sit down together and determine a solution to manage and run the Senate, one that not only takes into account the evenly split election night results, but a system that makes finding solutions and working together a priority, not just a system that gives one party power for the sake of power at the expense of the other.