Council fails to reach consensus on redistricting at work session

The County Council earlier this month tabled legislation that would change the council district boundaries for the next decade so it could hold a public work session, a move aimed at making the redistricting process more transparent.

But after an hour-long discussion at the Jan. 23 work session on the plan proposed by the Councilmanic Redistricting Commission, as well as other proposals, the five council members were still far from reaching a consensus.

With no public meetings scheduled to discuss redistricting before the council votes on a plan Feb. 6 (or March 5 if the council chooses to delay), the give and take needed for the council to pass a plan before its March 15 deadline will happen behind closed doors.

Council members Calvin Ball and Jen Terrasa, both Columbia Democrats, expressed support for the commission's plan.

"I think I prefer the well-thought out commission map," Terrasa said during the discussion.

She later added: "If we start looking at all the places we can tweak, we could be here all year."

Ball never said he prefers the commission's plan, but after a colleague mentioned the possibility of starting over, he noted that "there's a reason why we appointed a commission." He said the council should stray away from making dramatic changes that have not been discussed in the public forum.

Meanwhile, the council's lone Republican, Greg Fox of Fulton, advocated for several changes to the commission's plan, which he pointed out was selected in a 4-3 partisan vote, favoring Democrats.

"You guys, as 4-1, have the right to do whatever the heck you want to do," Fox said. "I'm just saying there are some other options out there that were not partisan options."

Earlier in the process, Fox had created a plan he said was aimed at making the least amount of changes to the districts as they currently exist while keeping the population in each district close to ideal.

At the work session, Ellicott City Democrat Courtney Watson presented a plan aimed at resolving the concerns of Wheatfield and Brampton Hills residents who do not want their Ellicott City neighborhoods moved from District 1 to District 2.

"That neighborhood really is part of the western Montgomery Road corridor," Watson said.

To keep Wheatfield and Brampton Hills in District 1, Watson's plan would move the Hollifield, Terra Maria and Quarterfield neighborhoods from District 1 to District 5.

Asked after the meeting if she would vote for a plan that did not keep Wheatfield in District 1, Watson said: "It's too early to tell."

One thing that both the commission's plan and Watson's plan do not do is keep the Columbia village of Dorsey's Search in District 4, as the village board recently requested the council do.

Finding a way to do that seems to be a sticking point for council Chairwoman Mary Kay Sigaty, a Columbia Democrat. Asked if she would vote for a plan that failed to do so, Sigaty said: "I'm going to do my very best to try to be able to find a plan that leaves Dorsey's Search in District 4 that my colleagues will support."

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