NJ Redistricting Map Is A Win For Montclair's 4th Ward, Candidate Says

MONTCLAIR, NJ — A Congressional candidate and longtime activist from Montclair says that the town’s 4th Ward has scored an important win with the state’s new redistricting map.

According to Imani Oakley, who is running against U.S. Rep. Donald Payne Jr. in the 10th District, the state’s latest redistricting effort appears to be a “victory” for Montclair’s historically Black 4th Ward (read more below).

Every decade, the process of "redistricting" tweaks Congressional lines throughout New Jersey. And this year, the state's new map is shaking things up for several towns and cities – including Montclair.

Last week, the New Jersey Congressional Redistricting Commission released its new map of districts, which can be seen here. Street-level maps of the new districts aren't available yet on the commission's website. See related: NJ Democrats Win Tug Of War Over Redistricting Map

Read more about the process – and purpose – of redistricting here. See demographics of each district broken down by race here.

According to the map released by the commission – which still needs to be certified – most of Montclair will be located in the 11th District. However, the town's 4th Ward will apparently remain in the 10th District, which is represented by Payne, a Democrat.

Other nearby municipalities in the 10th District include East Orange, Irvington, Orange and part of Newark, and if the new map is certified, West Orange.

• See related article: NJ Redistricting To Impact Future Elections In Montclair

Oakley, a self-described “progressive” candidate, said the commission’s final choice represents a victory for the ward.

“As a result of our work and organizing together with our community, it looks like we were able to keep Montclair’s historically Black 4th Ward together with other Black communities of interest,” Oakley said.

However, other communities of color in the state weren’t so lucky, and now find themselves split off from their larger communities of interest, Oakley added, accusing Democratic party leaders of being willing to “throw Black and Brown voters under the bus in the name of personal political gain.”

Oakley said that during a series of public hearings, the commission heard from dozens of residents and organizations asking for a map that accurately represents New Jersey’s minority population.

“Although nearly two dozen organizations asked the commission to endorse a racial equity map, the new congressional breakdown contains the same number of majority-minority districts as before,” Oakley said.

• See related article: NJ Congress Candidate Bashes Idea Of Redistricting In Montclair

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