City Council Reviews Re-Districting Proposal

Note: To the right is a photo of the map showing the draft re-districting. It is available for public view at the Office of the City Council on the second floor of City Hall.

Officials from the Secretary of State's Office gave a presentation to the city council on potential new boundaries for city wards last night.

The last time the city went through re-districting was 2001, and the proposed changes this time around are mostly minor with a few ward lines moved slightly, according to a draft map.

In re-drawing the lines, officials from the state and city started with Medford's census population of 56,173 and aimed for a target population in each voting precinct of 3,511, said David Paleologos, a representative from the Secretary of State's office.

There was also some adjustment for anticipated growth. Ward 7-2 -- which is in the Wellington area, and includes Rivers Edge -- anticipates 400 to 500 new housing units to be created before the next re-districting in 2021, Paleologos said. The Ward's lines were drawn with that anticipated growth considered, he said.

The proposed new lines were presented in a committee of the whole meeting at City Hall Tuesday night.

Local municipalities are expected to vote on re-districting plans and submit them to the state by June 15. The Local Elections District Review Commission, which includes the governor, attorney general and secretary of state, will then vote on the proposed new lines.

"You’re creating the building blocks for legislative re-districting,” Paleologos said to the council.

Robert Maiocco, council president, said he remembered the last time the city went through re-districting and remarked at how much smoother it appeared to be this time around.

"I was on this committee back in 2000," he said. "It was a nightmare, so this is fabulous.”

Maiocco, Frederick Dello Russo, Breanna Lungo Koehn, Mark Arena and Paul Camuso attended the meeting, but Michael Marks and Robert Penta did not. The councilors in attendance voted to hold another committee of the whole meeting before June 15 to give those absent a chance to discuss the proposed plans.

"There are two councilors that are missing," Maiocco said. "Everyone should be informed.”

Reconsidering Polling Places Possible

Following the presentation, Councilor Paul Camuso suggested re-districting may be a perfect time for the city to consider changing some city voting places.

"I would like to see us moving on the numbers this evening, and then have a follow-up meeting to identify other potential areas where people could vote more central to where they live,” Camuso said.

Camuso mentioned the West Medford Community Center as one potential new polling place.