Redistricting Commission Makes Recommendation

The Montgomery County Redistricting Commission voted to recommend a Democrat-proposed plan that would revise the boundaries of the five County Council districts. The Council’s public hearing on the plan likely will be set for early November, so stay tuned.

The recommended plan keeps all municipalities in single districts. It puts the unincorporated areas of Germantown, Clarksburg, Montgomery Village, Olney, Wheaton, Four Corners, Burtonsville, White Oak, Fairland and Potomac in single districts. Residents along River Road and Route 29 would be in single districts according to the plan, which uses 2010 precincts as its building blocks to districts.

The targeted population for each revised district was 194,468. The recommended plan is close in all five districts, ranging from being only 15 below the target (194,453) in District 5 to 2,060 below the target (192,408) for District 2. District 1 is 1,762 above the target (196,230), District 3 is 62 below the target (194,406) and District 4 is 373 above the target (194,481).

The Commission meets every 10 years to evaluate population shifts as indicated by the most recent Census. The mission of the Commission (as required by the County Charter) is to recommend five Council district boundaries based upon information in the Census.

The new districts will be in effect for the 2014 Council election.