The redistricting of D.C.’s eight wards is now underway as city officials prepare to receive the final 2010 U.S. Census population numbers. D.C. Council Chairman Kwame Brown announced Monday that Ward 2 Councilman Jack Evans and at-large Councilman Michael Brown will co-chair the committee that will redraw the ward lines to fit the population shifts identified by the census. At-large Councilman Phil Mendelson, who chaired the redistricting committee in 2001, will serve on this year’s committee. The city grew over the past decade, climbing above 600,000 residents for the first time in more than a generation. The exact locations of that growth have yet to be released, but redistricting has historically been a contentious process as neighborhoods fight to retain their ward identities and collective voting power. Last time around, a line drawn through some of the city’s wealthiest neighborhoods in upper Northwest pulled communities from the affluent Ward 3 into the more economically mixed Ward 4. The reshaping resulted in a heated debated that still continues.
Redistricting is also often cause for a fight among the ward council members as they both respond to their constituents’ desires and fight to keep intact certain neighborhoods — often those with wealthier residents who can help fund campaigns. Some council members have also historically seen redistricting as an opportunity to add balance to the city’s black and white division. The current map has the majority of the city’s black residents residing in Wards 7 and 8 and there have been suggestions to use the redistricting process to racially mix the wards.
Evans said this year’s changes might not be as wide-reaching and, therefore, less of a source for conflict.
“Traditionally, Wards 7 and 8 have not had enough people and we’ve needed to shift lines in their favor,” he said. “Preliminary numbers show the populations there may have increased, so the changes may not be as dramatic.”
The committee won’t likely have the final census numbers in-hand until sometime this spring. Evans, who served on the 2001 committee, said they’ll likely start by holding hearings in each of the city’s eight wards. Once they gather input from residents and fellow council members, they’ll redraw the lines as they work to build consensus on the council.
