Concord's New Redistricting Committee Gets Some Homework

CONCORD, NH — The latest redistricting committee, which will work on redesigning city ward configurations in the wake of the 2020 Census, met on Wednesday for some quick introductions and a bit of homework, too.

Mayor Jim Bouley noted this was the third time he had been involved with redistricting in the city, calling the process “interesting,” and “one of the most important things the city does,” making sure that wards were fair.

After introductions of all but two members who were in attendance, Jim Kennedy, the city solicitor, gave an overview of what members would need to consider and look at as far as data, boundaries, as well as the issue of the prisons, which are both located in Ward 3 and overly influence the population and size of that ward. He called the process “ambitious” and said new lines needed to be ready for the full council to consider by early November. Kennedy said he had some experience with redistricting both in Concord and at the state level.

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“Redistricting is a process that happens every 10 years,” he said. “So, the city, like many cities and states throughout the country, receives its numbers. (Members) review the population numbers of each of the 10 wards in the city so that we can come up with a redistricting plan that makes sense and achieves the goal of one person, one vote standard (with) no deviation of more than 5 percent, more or less.”

Kennedy said the city’s planning department created maps for the members to look at with all of the new data and current lines. Members would determine what the lines should be, based on the new data and deviations. Another factor when drawing new maps included access to potential polling locations — since all locations should be located in the same ward where voters live.

This requirement was a predicament, of sorts, after the city moved the Ward 9 polling location from Havenwood Heritage Heights to the new community center, which is located in Ward 8. This was done due to the COVID-19 pandemic, to limit exposure to the elderly residents at Havenwood. Configuration of Wards 4 and Ward 5, too, with their voting locations right on the borders of the boundaries of each ward, could also be an issue, since the population in the northern part of the city had grown compared to both wards.

Janice Bonenfant, the city clerk, said the polling locations should be large, like a gymnasium, and also have access to restrooms and a kitchen so that election officials could prepare food or take breaks during the 12-hour election day. Schools and churches, she said, were always the easiest locations but joked that it was not always easy to find locations in each ward. Adequate parking and accessibility, too, were important.

Bonenfant said there were no plans to move the Ward 9 polling location back to Havenwood due to parking restrictions and the unknowns of coronavirus.

Sam Durfee, a senior planner with the city, said there were also rules about breaking up Census blocks. Those blocks, according to the maps, have natural boundaries like rivers, streets, railroad tracks, and other lines. Ideally, those blocks should not be split. Kennedy called them “easily identifiable physical features.”

Kennedy said a lawsuit by the ACLU in Cranston, Rhode Island, could have presented a problem in New Hampshire but later was resolved in court in that city was allows to count its prison population in its new wards.

The redistricting committee voted unanimously to include the prison populations in Ward 3 after a motion by state Rep. Stephen Shurtleff (D-Concord), who lives in Ward 1.

Bouley said after members eyed the data, current map, and made recommendations, and the council accepted them, they would be sent to the state so they could use the new local ward maps with its redistricting for state representative and senate seats.

Bouley also said the two city’s two school districts would be an issue. Bonenfant said she would like to see all of the Merrimack Valley School District residents in one ward. She called it a “wish list,” because it was “very confusing” to some residents and voters. In Ward 1, about 75 percent of residents lived in the Merrimack Valley School District while 25 percent of Ward 2 lived in the district, she added. Currently, Merrimack Valley families are in two wards — Ward 1 and Ward 2, areas of the city that have seen the most residential growth, too.

Later in the meeting, Durfee said there were 6,340 residents in the district meaning it would be impossible to put them all in a single ward since the new ward size would need to be around 4,400 residents.

Between 2010 Census and 2020 Census, Concord grew by nearly 3,300 people, about 8 percent — but the growth was not spread out between equal parts of the city. Between 650 and 800 new residents moved into Wards 1, 2, and 3 during the past 10 years. Most of the growth in Ward 3 was due to the construction of a women’s prison. Ward 10 also grew by slightly more than 400 new residents. Wards 6, 7, and 8 all grew by between 200 and 250 residents. Wards 4 and 5 both lost between 100 and 150 residents. It is presumed that remote learning during the 2020 Census at UNH School of Law and NHTI, Concord’s community college, which has two dorms, were factors in the reduction of population in Ward 4. In Ward 5, many students attend St. Paul’s School. But they were also remote learning during the pandemic. Children, too, becoming adults and moving out of the ward which is made up of many single-family homes, was another perceived reason for the population drop.

The city printed out large maps for all of the members with the number of residents listed inside each Census block. They were also given a sheet with the new population numbers for each ward in the city based on the 2020 Census with data to compare with 2010.

Durfee said there would be “some challenges” meeting the deviation goals as well as polling locations inside each ward.

Bouley said the homework assignment of every member was to look at the new residency data and possible deviations as well as the large maps with the Census block numbers and return with some ideas on how to tweak the current wards.

The redistricting committee will meet again next week to share the members’ first round of findings.

2011, 2012 Patch Coverage:

• NH Supreme Court Throws Out Redistricting Lawsuits
• Legislature Debates Redistricting
• House Overrides Redistricting Veto
• Lynch Vetoes House Redistricting
• State Senate Approves Redistricting
• Concord to Consider Redistricting Lawsuit
• Hearing on Redistricting Continues Tonight
• Committee Narrows Down Concord Ward Map Options
• Concord's Voting Ward Boundaries Could Change

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