Subcommittee on Labor, Voting Rights, and Redistricting
Subcommittee Report on Bill 14-137, the “Ward Redistricting Amendment Act of 2001”
April 30, 2001

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TO: All Councilmember

FROM: Councilmember Phil Mendel son, Chairman, Subcommittee on Labor, Voting Rights, and Redistricting

DATE: April 30, 2001

SUBJECT: Subcommittee Report on Bill 14-137, the "Ward Redistricting Amendment Act of 2001

I. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

The "Ward Redistricting Amendment Act of 2001" redefines ward boundaries within the District of Columbia as required by District of Columbia law. D.C. Code §1-1308(b) requires that the Council make any necessary adjustments to election ward boundaries within 90 days after receipt of the official report of the decennial census from the Mayor, or by July 14, whichever is later.

The number of wards, guidelines for deciding relative populations, and considerations for adjustment of ward boundaries are set out in D.C. Code § 1-1308. This law requires several principles guide any redistricting plan. The first requirement is that wards must be approximately equal in population. Adjustment of ward boundaries is necessary when the Census indicates changes in population remove the eight election wards, as currently defined, from the permitted range of deviation from the average. D.C. Code §1-1308(f) requires that the wards fall within a range of plus or minus five percent of the average ward population size. The 2000 Census set the District's overall population at 572,059. When divided equally among the eight wards this results in an average population of 71,507 persons per ward. The allowed deviation is between 67,932 and 75,083 persons. In developing its recommendations the Subcommittee has attempted to avoid these maximum and minimum deviations, and has tried to distribute population among the wards as evenly as possible.

The law also requires the Council to consider whether particular ward boundaries should conform with census tracts, the extent to which natural geography, and neighborhood cohesiveness are respected, and whether the wards are geographically compact.

II. CHRONOLOGY OF ACTIONS

III. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1 States the Bill's short title.

Section 2 Amends the Redistricting Procedure Act of 1981 (D.C. Law 4-87; D.C. Code §1-1333) to reflect new ward boundaries, as drawn by the Subcommittee. The changes to the ward boundaries will take effect on January 1, 2002, and will be used in all elections held after February 1, 2002.

Section 3 States the fiscal impact of the Bill.

Section 4 States the effective date of the act.

IV. REDISTRICTING SUMMARY TABLES AND CHARTS

Redistricting Summary Table
Target Average Population Per Ward: 71,507

Note: The deviation between Wards 2 & 3 is due to census tract 8.02 (Palisades) being moved to Ward 3. If this tract were instead split along Fox hall Road, both Wards would be substantially closer to the mean (by 1100).

Redistricting Proposal Summary
April 30, 2001

572,059 Total District population
71,507 Target average (mean) per ward
74,882 Maximum allowable population (+5% above mean)
67,932 Minimum allowable population (-5% below mean)

V. HEARINGS REPORT

Herbert Bixhorn, Office of Planning
Wanda Alston, Office of the Mayor, Liaison to the U.S. Census Bureau
Roderick Harrison, Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies

The following witnesses testified during the April 5, 2001, evening session:

Arnoldo Ramos, Council of Latino Agencies
Arthur H. Jackson, State Committee, Ward 8 Democrats
Yvonne Moore, Citizen

On April 7, 2001 the Subcommittee held a public hearing on Bill 14-137. The following persons testified at that hearing:

Lars Hydle, ANC3C
Nancy J. MacWood, ANC 3C
Dino Drudi, Citizen
Peter Schott, Citizen

On April 23, 2001 the Subcommittee held a public hearing on Bill 14-137. The following persons testified at that hearing:

Veronica Raglin, Kingman Park Civic Association
Dee Hunter, Citizens Advocacy Project
Keenan Keller, Chair, D.C. Democratic State Committee Redistricting Task Force
Shelore Williams, Chair, Ward 1 Democrats
Jerry Cooper, Ward 1 resident
Terry Lynch, Co-Chair, Ward 1 Redistricting Task Force
Harriet Hubbard, Ward 1 resident
Tony Norman, Ward 1 Redistricting Task Force
Stanley Mayes, Ward 1 Redistricting Task Force
Mahdi Leroy J. Thorpe Jr., Commissioner, ANC 2C
Scott Polk, Commissioner, ANC 2E
Darlow Botha, President, Market Square West Condominium
Patricia Scolaro, Burleith Citizens Association
Tom Smith, Ward 3 resident
Jackie Randolph, Ward 3 Democrats
Rosalyn Doggett, Ward 3 Democrats
Penny Pagano, President, Palisades Citizens Association
Robert Martin, Ward 3 resident
Ann Heuer, Commissioner, ANC 3D
Norm Neverson, Ward 4 Democrats
James D. Berry Jr., Chairman, ANC 5C
Frazier Walton, Kingman Park Civic Association
Yavocka Young, Commissioner - ANC 6C
Keith Perry, Ward 6 resident
Daniel M. Pernell III, Commissioner, ANC 6A
Gregory Ferrell, Commissioner, ANC 6A
Jenefer Ellingston, D.C. Statehood/Green Party
Mathew Shannon, Chairman, Ward 7 Redistricting Task Force
Jerri Washington, Member, Ward 7 Redistricting Task Force
Roscoe Grant, Member, Ward 7 Redistricting Task Force
Absalom Jordan, Ward 8 resident
O.V. Johnson, Ward 8 resident
Percy Battle, Ward 8 resident
Addie Cooke, Ft. Stanton Civic Association
Josephine Wharton, Ward 8 resident
Mary Cuthbert, Ward 8 resident
Arthur H. Jackson, Ward 8 Democrats
Earl Simpson, Deanwood Citizens Association
Lynn French, Ward 1 resident
Lawrence Guyot, Ward 1 resident
Eric C. Olson, Center for Voting and Democracy
Phillip Pannell, Ward 8 resident
Pete Ross, Fox hall Community Civic Association

Copies of witnesses written testimony, if received, is attached.

VI. FISCAL IMPACT

VII. IMPACT ON EXISTING LAW

* Subcommittee staff identified a census error: 1,086 population at the U.S. Soldiers' and Airman's' Home was mistakenly placed in census tract 14.02 (Ward 3) rather than in census tract 23.02 (Ward 4, to be moved to Ward 5). This error can be adjusted officially only by the Census Bureau after June 30th. However, the Subcommittee recommends that the adjustment be included in the calculations for purposes of the allowable deviation from the mean.

Note: In an attempt to accommodate several Ward Councilmember amendments were made at mark-up which gave Ward 3 too high a population. Ward 3's population will be adjusted to fall within the proper range at or before consideration by the Committee of the Whole.

PLAN "H"
as amended (May 2, 2001)

572,059 Total District Population
71,507 Mean
75,082 5% Maximum
67,932 5% Minimum