A proposed redistricting map put forward by Mayor Michelle Wu alters many of the contentious changes made by the Boston City Council, in a prior map that a federal judge threw out for potential violations to the Constitution.
Wu urged the City Council to take action on either her proposed map, or one that the body may create on its own, by its Wednesday meeting to allow for sufficient review and passage by May 30, the deadline for keeping the city’s preliminary election date, Sept. 12, in place.
The mayor told the Council in a Friday letter that she put forward her own redistricting map “to help ensure a swift and smooth resolution to redistricting.” She said her administration redrew districts with this past Monday’s court ruling, and the city’s legal obligations under the Voting Rights Act of 1965, in mind.
“As mayor, I believe that putting whole neighborhoods in single council districts encourages neighborhood organizing and civic engagement,” Wu wrote. “With that goal in mind, our proposed map unifies neighborhoods across the city.
“The result is a City Council district map that unifies communities of interest within districts and attempts, as best as possible, to reflect how residents experience the city in their daily lives.”
A U.S. District Court judge ruled that the Council had likely violated the Constitution, specifically the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, by factoring race into the establishment of the map approved by the body last fall, via a 9–4 vote.
The City Council had been sued by a group of residents, led by Rasheed Walters, that sought a preliminary injunction barring the map’s implementation. The lawsuit, which two councilors who opposed the changes helped to fund, was aired out in a weeklong court battle that continued to divide the body long after its April 5 conclusion.
The mayor’s proposed map undoes some of the precinct changes to districts 2, 3, 4 and 5 that were made in the defunct council map, which the federal judge wrote were “significant to the current dispute” in her ruling this week.
For example, all of Ward 16 is in District 3 in the map put forward by Wu. Part of this ward, located in South Dorchester, was put in District 4 by the Council. The changes were opposed by the District 3 Councilor Frank Baker, who contributed financially to the lawsuit.
The Council had approved changes that would move four majority white precincts — 16-8, 16-11, 16-12 and 17-13 — from D3 to D4. Plaintiffs argued this would dilute the Black vote in D4, while advocates said the changes were made with the aim of avoiding a situation of “packing” Black voters into D4.
Wu’s map matches council changes in two other precincts, however, by moving 16-1 and 16-2 from District 4 to District 3, which were historically located together in D3 prior to being moved to D4 in 2012, according to the judge’s ruling.
The mayor also deviates somewhat from the Council’s prior changes to two Roslindale neighborhoods. Wu proposed keeping 19-12 in District 4 as opposed to moving it to District 5, as included in the defunct map, but aligned with a Council change that moved 18-7 from D4 to D5.
In South Boston, 7-5 and 7-6 would remain in District 2 under Wu’s proposal. This deviates from changes approved by the council, which moved these precincts to District 3. Council President Ed Flynn, who represents District 2 and also contributed to the lawsuit, opposed the prior changes.
“As we wrote to the honorable body earlier in the week, time is of the essence,” Wu said in her letter. “This proposed map unifies neighborhoods within council districts and is one that I’m prepared to sign.”
