My Thoughts on the Redistricting Commission's Report

Redistricting occurs after each U.S. Census count.  Every state realigns its legislative and congressional districts, and thousands of counties and municipalities make adjustments to legislative seats.  This week, following three public hearings, the Baltimore County Council’s redistricting commission to realign council districts for the next decade.  

This was the first time a commission drew the council map. In 2001, councilmembers did it themselves. I was president of the Perry Hall Improvement Association at the time, and I remember the controversy that followed initial proposals to carve up Towson and other communities. 

In the 2002 election, voters approved a county charter amendment that required a redistricting commission. The amendment spelled out criteria to guide the creation of future districts, such as compactness. 

Going into this process, I hoped that the commission would do two things:  avoid the partisanship we have seen in redistricting efforts across the country, and unify communities that remained split under the 2001 map. 

I am generally pleased with the outcome. 

Under the proposed map, the Fifth District will lose Hillendale, Villa Cresta, most of Loch Raven, and the Bird River area to the Sixth District, and a precinct at Pine Grove Middle School to the Third District. The Fifth District will gain southern Perry Hall, much of Carney, Oak Crest Village, and Fullerton from the Sixth District, and Kingsville from the Third District.

For the most part, these changes make sense. For example, I am pleased that the Towson core will not be shattered among multiple districts.  Towson lacks the population to have its own district. I always thought the best approach was to keep the Towson core unified in the Fifth District, which has an urban character, rather than attach Towson to the mostly-rural Third District that stretches to Pennsylvania. 

I am also pleased that Parkville is unified; that Carney goes from three to two Council districts; and that Kingsville is realigned with Perry Hall along the Belair Road corridor.

This is not a perfect map, but it makes improvements. I thank the redistricting commission for its fairness and attention to the language of the county charter.

The realignment of districts will actually occur more than three years from now, for the 2014 elections. I have enjoyed representing my current district for the past seven months, and I will still be a visible presence in those neighborhoods that will no longer be in the Fifth District after 2014.