Officials, Residents Optimistic About Redistricting

When Baltimore County’s council districts were adjusted 10 years ago, Reisterstown residents and officials thought that being spread over three districts would mean better representation.

“It can be better to have multiple districts representing you if they represent you,” said George Harman, president of the Reisterstown-Owings Mills-Glyndon Coordinating Council (ROG). “However, with Reisterstown divided and the downtown area divided between all three districts in the past, that was difficult.”

A to be voted on in the fall would partly solve this problem when the new district boundaries take effect in 2014.

Under the proposal, District 2 - currently represented by Vicki Almond (D) - would trade precincts in Timonium to Todd Huff (R) in District 3, for the northern Reisterstown-area precincts, putting most of Reisterstown in her district. District 4, represented by Ken Oliver (D), would still include parts of Reisterstown west of Main Street.

At a recent ROG meeting, group members said Reisterstown is not really represented in District 4.

“The people from Councilman Oliver’s district, according to their feelings, they don’t have a representative,” said Calvin Reter, a longtime community activist.

Oliver, who is not in favor of the redistricting changes because they would shrink his population by approximately 6,000 residents, said Reisterstown has always been on his radar, and having three representatives gives it a lot of attention. But he admits the new changes could be good for the town.

“It’ll probably make things a little easier since [Almond would have] most of Reisterstown,” he said.

However, Harman doesn’t think Reisterstown has necessarily been given the attention Oliver said it has.

“I do believe the revitalization efforts in downtown Reisterstown have been somewhat hampered by the lack of focus that each of the councilmembers gave to that effort,” he said. “It’s just a perception, not an absolute.”

According to Almond, the proposed changes would empower the community through being mostly in one district, with one representative. She hopes to ramp up Main Street improvements even more once the whole area is in her district.

“It’s my hometown,” she said. “That’s where I’ve been for 30 years. It’s where I’ve raised my children.”

Almond is walking Reisterstown Road from Pikesville to Main Street this summer, speaking with business owners about their concerns.

“Looking at the number of vacant buildings and office space tells a lot about a community,” she said. “These are hard times and we need to pay attention to that.”

One of things Reisterstown needs is a focal point to draw in foot traffic, Almond said. She plans to continue to work with ROG as well as the .

With her heart in her hometown, residents are optimistic about a future with most of Reisterstown in Almond’s district.

“It’s just fortunate that the majority of our stuff will be in District 2, and we can rely on Vicki, as the former president of ROG, to be more clearly responsive to our needs and interests," Harman said.