The
Ward 6 Redistricting Task Force has released its
initial redistricting report, which includes the
proposed ANC and Single Member District boundaries approved at the Aug. 8 task force meeting. These are not final, and now will go through a months' worth of meetings with all Ward 6 ANCs to allow for recommendations for any changes from the commissions and other affected groups.
Here's the
proposed Ward 6D SMD boundaries (at right). As I've mentioned ad nauseum, there was no way Near Southeast was going to remain as one SMD, and in the new map it's split into two districts, with 6D07 now comprising almost all of the neighborhood, while the area right around M Street west of New Jersey Avenue has been melded into the 6D02 single member district that covers the northeastern section of Southwest.
Given the population layout of the neighborhood, there isn't really any alternative in order to hit the target range of 1,900-2,100 residents per single member district other than creating a boundary that includes
Capitol Quarter,
Capitol Hill Tower, and
70/100 I, which gives a population of 2,091. (If you try to swap 70/100 I for the blocks with
Onyx,
Velocity, and
909 New Jersey, you end up with only 1,791 residents.)
There does seem to have been an attempt to keep as much of the neighborhood in one SMD as possible, with the proposed 6D07 including the
baseball stadium and
Florida Rock, though the areas just north of the ballpark (where the
Akridge and
Monument Half Street projects are proposed) would be in the SE/SW 6D02 district.
If these boundaries are approved, it sets up a very interesting situation for current 6D commissioners. David Garber, who has ruled over all but a smidge of Near Southeast since being elected in 2010, lives on a block that would now be in the new 6D02 SMD spanning South Capitol Street; the existing 6D02, all in Southwest, is currently represented by Cara Shockley, also elected in 2010. Whoever would represent the bulk of Near Southeast in these new boundaries could not live at Onyx, Velocity, or 909 New Jersey.
The Ward 6 redistricting task force will be at the Sept. 12 ANC 6D meeting to discuss the proposed boundaries and to receive comments. There is still a possibility that there could be a reversal and Near Southeast could move to ANC 6B (the Capitol Hill ANC), and the task force's report included the
not-adopted map for 6B that shows Near Southeast as part of a 12-SMD commission. This would keep much of Near Southeast in one district, with Canal Park, Capitol Quarter, and blocks right by the freeway except for 70/100 I paired with a few blocks north of the freeway in another district. The task force meets with 6B to get its recommendations on Sept. 13.
There will then be a Sept. 19 meeting to consider all recommendations received as a result of their initial redistricting maps, to then come up with a final recommendation to be forwarded to Tommy Wells by the end of September.
If you want to know more (including how to make your feelings known, if you have any), the
task force web site is chock full of information. And you can play with my
interactive Ward 6 census map if you want to try to make your own SMDs that fit the 1,900-2,100 population range.