neighborhood news
Citizens Voice Concerns About Redistricting
In Public Meetings New Ward Boundaries Questioned
T
he District’s redistricting process, undertaken every ten years to balance the population of all eight wards, is well underway. On Nov. 1, the Subcommittee on Redistricting, which directs the work of DC Council, released three draft maps for comment. In each, the borders of Wards 7 and 8 shift across the river to include communities currently located in Ward 6. Among residents on the east side of the river there seems to be consensus on—or resignation to — the broad movement of the lines on the map. However, in public meetings, residents expressed concern with the impact of redistricting on their communities. Residents repeatedly raised themes of economic development, racial identity, gentrification and representation. Many said they are worried about the impact of a “new” Ward 7 and Ward 8.
by Elizabeth O’Gorek
Redistricting
Economics
All of the District’s wards grew in the last decade. Ward 7 expanded by 6.3 percent and Ward 8 by 6.6 percent. But Ward 6 grew by an astounding 41.6 percent, driven by tremendous development and an influx of largely affluent, white residents. Many residents said redistricting was an opportunity to distribute that opportunity and the resources and amenities that come with it. “Unfortunately, this process is about equal representation in political power,” Subcommittee Chair Elissa Silverman told a meeting of the Ward 8 Democrats. “It’s not about equal representation in economic power, which maybe it should be, because that’s where we really have inequities in our city. But many residents placed economic arguments at the basis of their proposals to redraw political boundaries for Wards 7 and 8. Many argued that redistricting was the opportunity for historically Black communities to have a voice in District development. At the Subcommittee hearing on Ward 8, Commissioner Jamila White (8A05) said that including upand-coming neighborhoods in a newly defined Ward 8 could allow a wider section of the community to benefit from growth. White proposed leveraging development on the west side of the Anacostia to get additional amenities on the east side. “Development will have to shape not only the whole ward, but the whole city,” White told Silverman during the Ward 8 hearing. At the Oct. 16 meeting of the Ward 8 Democrats, Chair Troy Donté Prestwood said many people see redistricting as an opportunity to loop additional grocery stores into Ward 8. “I think psychologically, it does make a difference for many people in our ward,” Prestwood said. “It is a thing.” Commissioner Brian Thompson (8A03) proposed that the area east and south of the river be represented by council members from Wards 6, 7 and Silverman pointed out that re8. Screenshot: DC Granicus/DC Council Video 16
E a s t o f t h e R i v er D C N e w s . c o m
The process of redefining electoral districts is undertaken by every state (and DC) every ten years, designed to ensure that every vote carries equal weight. DC Council has appointed a Redistricting Subcommittee to direct this work. Chaired by At-Large Councilmember Elissa Silverman (I), it also includes two other at-large members, Anita Bonds (D) and Christina Henderson (I). In 2020, 689,545 people lived in DC. The Council has to make sure each of the eight wards will have a roughly equal population, about 86,193 residents. To do that, the lines must be redrawn to place at least 17,699 Ward 6 residents in another ward, and to place 3,370 more in Ward 7 and 5,628 in Ward 8.
