Population Swings In Concord Will Lead To Changed Ward Maps

CONCORD, NH — A new city redistricting committee will be named on Tuesday, leading the Concord City Council to start the process of redrawing its ward maps.

Mayor Jim Bouley has named the city’s four at-large councilors to be members of the committee, according to Tuesday’s council packet: Byron Champlin, Nathan Fennessy, Amanda Grady Sexton, and Fred Keach.

Former at-large councilor and current state representative for Penacook, Stephen Shurtleff (D-Penacook), has agreed to serve as has state Rep. Katherine Roger (D-Concord), who represents the Merrimack 28, the floterial district for Wards 8, 9, and 10. Jim Richards, the SAU 8 Concord Board of Education president, who represents Wards 1, 2, 3, and 4, will also participate.

Others being named to the committee include Jae Whitelaw, an attorney; Drew Biemer, a communications strategist who was a previous staffer for President George W. Bush and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush; and Michael Vlacich, a senior advisor to U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH).

Bouley will serve as chairman on the committee.

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According to the Census, the city grew by about 3,300 people in 10 years, from 40,687 in 2010 to 43,976 in 2020.

Three wards in Concord — Ward 1 and Ward 2, the village of Penacook and West Concord neighborhoods, as well as Ward 3, saw the most growth in the city. The population growth of each ward, between 15 and 19 percent, will require the districts to be changed. One of the reasons for the large population growth in Ward 3 was the construction of a new women’s prison.

Ward 6 grew by 215 residents (5.3 percent) while Ward 7 grew by 219 residents (5.6 percent). Ward 8 grew by 248 residents or 6.2 percent. Ward 9 and 10 also saw about at 9 percent population increase.

The population of both prisons in Ward 3 is around 2,200 or nearly half of what the ideal ward size should be.

Two wards — Ward 4, the North End and northern downtown area of the city, as well as Ward 5, the West End and western part of the city, all lost population. Ward 5 dropped by 6 percent while Ward 4 dipped by 3 percent.

One reason Ward 4 may have dipped is due to UNH School of Law and NHTI students attending classes remotely during the coronavirus pandemic when Census workers were counting residents.

According to city data, the average ward size for each of the 10 wards 2020 needs to be around 4,398 residents — up from 4,067 residents. Ideal deviation from that number is considered to be plus or minus 5 percent or about 220 people.

In 2011, when the city revised its wards, the deviation in each ward was between 1.5 and 4.1 percent.

In order to meet the deviation to create ideal wards, Wards 1, 2, and 3 will have to shift somewhere between 220 to 315 people from their current designs. Wards 4, 5, 6, and 7 will need between 50 to 180 people added to them.

The 2011 ward map can be found linked here, in PDF format.

Meetings will be held between mid-October and the first week of November, according to Bouley’s committee memo to the council.

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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