A Carroll Circuit Court judge has drawn the line.
Judge Michael Galloway signed an agreement Tuesday with the plaintiff, former Montgomery County Del. Dana Dembrow, and the county Board of Elections establishing five voting districts.
The decision still couldbe challenged by an appeal, said County Attorney Kim Millender, though the window for one may be small.
Under state election code, an appeal would have to be filed within five days of the decision, making Monday the cutoff for any challenges. The typical window is 30 days.
Since the court decision, incumbent Commissioner Perry Jones was still the only candidate who filed for the September primary, said Election Director Patricia Matsko.
“We?ve received no phone calls, which surprised all of us,” she said.
The suit also said candidates would have to be residents of the district in which they run ? a condition left unclear by the 2004 referendum, Millender said. The 2004 referendum expanded the county commissioners from three to five and stipulated that they be elected from districts.
The county commissioners were pleased the judge sided with the map recommended by the redistricting committee in December 2005 and endorsed by the county Board of Elections, county commissioners and all of Carroll?s municipal governments.
The county?s state delegation proposed a map that would have split several municipalities and made South Carroll into a single district.
Dembrow, a Sykesville resident, filed the lawsuit early Tuesday, two days after the county Board of Elections announced the race would be run at large.
“When I read in the paper that the election was going to be at-large, I thought it was the opposite of what people voted for in 2004,” he said.
Dembrow said he did not intend to run for commissioner, but has not ruled out the possibility.
THE FINAL DECISION?
The map ratified by the Carroll Circuit Court divides Carroll into five commissioner districts:
» Northwestern and middle-western parts of the county, including Taneytown, Union Bridge and New Windsor
» Northeastern edge of the county, encompassing Hampstead and Manchester
» Westminster and some of the surrounding area
» Most of South Carroll, including Mount Airy
» Southeastern part of Sykesville and Eldersburg
