A proposed redistricting plan would redraw the boundaries for five of the city’s six wards.
Chris Watson, owner of the Bridge and Watson consulting firm in Oxford, presented the draft during a city council work session Thursday at City Hall. It includes changes for every ward but Ward 3, where Rusty Greene is councilman.
Federal law requires the populations among wards to deviate by no more than 10%. The 2020 census revealed the current ward lines create a greater deviation, which makes redistricting necessary before next year’s city election.
While Watson’s proposal meets the legal requirements, setting the “top to bottom” deviation at 7.1%, he invited feedback from the council so he can adjust the plan if necessary.
“What it doesn’t include is any preferences that you all as individual council members may have,” Watson, who joined the meeting virtually, told the council. “In other words, this plan was based solely on my knowledge without the benefit of your political knowledge.”
Watson said he prefers council feedback to come in small meetings behind closed doors.
“The way that I prefer is face-to-face meetings one-on-one,” he said. “Here’s why. Sometimes the politics associated with wanting a certain area or not wanting a certain area is something some people choose not to reveal. So I find that I get better input with one-on-one meetings or small group meetings rather than an open forum.”
If there is any conflict between council members on territory, he said he would present multiple plans and let the full council hash out which it preferred.
Mayor Keith Gaskin agreed to have Chief Operations Officer Jammie Garrett facilitate individual meetings with councilmen.
The council plans to approve a redistricting plan by August, but Gaskin said the sooner the better. The lines affect more than just the sitting council members, he noted.
“There are probably other people considering running in these wards (next year), and they’d like to know what ward they’re going to be in,” Gaskin said.
What the draft plan changes
The city’s population, based on the 2020 census, is 24,084. Watson said that makes 4,014 the “ideal” population per ward.
“You need to be within, probably, 100 to 200 people per ward — above or below that number,” Watson said.
With Watson’s draft plan, the largest ward (Ward 3) would have 4,196 residents, while the smallest (Ward 2) would have 3,815.
Ward 1 would gain 434 residents, Ward 4 would gain 300 and Ward 5 would pick up 191, according to the draft plan.
Ward 6 would lose 625, while Ward 2 would lose 300.
As for the lines, Ward 6, represented by Jacqueline DiCicco, would lose a southern chunk of its current territory — south of Willowbrook Road to the east of Fifth Street North and south of Lincoln Road to the west of Fifth Street — to Ward 5, which Stephen Jones represents.
Ward 2, which Joseph Mickens represents, would give the western part of its territory, from Highway 69 to 19th Street South, to Ward 4, represented by Pierre Beard. Mickens’ ward would also give territory east of Highway 69 and south of the railroad tracks to Ward 1, which Ethel Stewart represents.
Ward 1 would also pick up territory south of Main Street, between First and Fifth Street South, extending to the railroad tracks just south of Eighth Avenue. That territory is now in Ward 5.
After the meeting, Mickens told The Dispatch he didn’t expect to see much change between the draft and what the council will ultimately approve.
“Watson didn’t do bad with the plan,” he said. “… We might tweak it a little bit, but I can see most of what he put staying in there.”
Likewise, DiCicco seemed generally happy with the draft plan.
“I don’t have any major concerns,” she said. “They’re trying to achieve balance. I think it’s acceptable.”
Zack Plair is the managing editor for The Dispatch.
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