The Boston City Council’s Committee on Census and Redistricting will host a special redistricting working session on Tuesday, October 23, 2012, 10:00 a.m. in the Curley Room on the Fifth Floor of Boston City Hall.
Boston Mayor Thomas Menino vetoed a controversial redistricting plan for the city, after it narrowly passed Boston City Council by a vote of 7 to 6. The plan proposed by Redistricting Chair, City Councillor Bill Linehan, was criticized by several Community groups and Black/Latino activists for not fairly handling citizens of color who now make up the majority of the city. The groups had planned to sue if this plan would have been approved.
A coalition of diverse groups from across the city is prepared to sue the city over a new redistricting map positioned to be voted on tomorrow at the weekly City Council meeting. If this map, Docket #0985 (Linehan) is introduced and seven or more councilors vote in favor, it goes to the Mayor for his signature (9 votes will override a veto by the Mayor). Upon passage of this map, the coalition is preparing for a lawsuit against the city, on the grounds that the packing of District 4 is in direct violation of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 which prohibits voting practices or procedures that discriminate on the basis of race. In the proposed map, the population of people of color ranges from a high of 95.3% in D4 to a low of 31.6% in D2.
A Community Guide to Redistricting Currently, we are in the process of Redistricting that happens every 10 yrs after the
Redistricting Hearing 5/14 @The Lee School
Campaign eyes Mass. redistricting, minority voting By Associated Press | Monday, March 28, 2011 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Local Politics
