District Line Shift Could Change Crofton's Political Party Makeup

Redistricting Crofton to District 4 could have vast political ramifications, said a state senator at a public hearing on Monday.

Crofton, the most densely populated region of (current) District 7, is still on the chopping block in a redistricting shuffle being considered by Anne Arundel County officials. 

Every ten years, the county’s Charter Revision Committee reviews the borders of all seven council districts to ensure they’re as even as possible. After the 2010 U.S. Census, the county’s population increased by 44,691, bringing the total to 534,347.

While Districts 1 and 4 were the most affected, with District 1 shrinking and District 4 growing, other areas of the county are being considered for redistricting. Among them, areas of District 7.

Chairman Jana Carey began Monday’s public hearing by saying the commission has heard from many in south county who want Crofton moved from District 7 into District 4.

At a meeting on July 11, the commission unveiled a set of five map sketches showing possible solutions ranging from redrawing all borders equally, to moving Crofton out of District 7, and more elaborate plans. None have yet been recommended by the commission, but a final solution must be given to the Anne Arundel County Council on September 6.

The answer to the redistricting puzzle doesn’t have to be complicated, said Steve Grimaud, president of the Crofton Civic Association. He said the commission should apply Occam’s Razor and merely extend the borders of districts logically to make up for the population discrepancy.

“That’s a simple, straightforward, clean solution,” he said.

Grimaud advised against moving Crofton, because it could upset the political scales. Crofton, a largely Republican area, would be an island unto itself if moved into the more Democratic District 4, he said. He asked the commission if they’ve considered the political ramifications of moving Crofton.

“I can tell you that has not been a subject of discussion of any of our commission meetings,” Chairman Carey responded.

“But it’s going to be,” said Commissioner Linda Schuett.

State Sen. Edward Reilly, of Crofton, said the commission should “leave District 7 alone.” He advised against altering the district’s political makeup to compensate for diversity. He noted that Districts 1 and 6 were economically, politically and socially diverse. 

South county residents have previously argued that their District 7 representative, Jerry Walker, did not reflect their views because he lives closer to Crofton than more southern areas.

“Every district has diversity. Just because there’s some diversity in a district doesn’t mean it should be significantly changed,” Reilly said.  “I don’t think where your elected official lays his head affects his ability to represent people in his district.”

Charlotte Smutko  of Lothian is one of those voices supporting moving Crofton out of District 7. She’s been at previous public hearings advocating for a more rural south county identity.

“We don’t get the kind of representation that we need, because people in Crofton don’t understand areas like south county,” she said. “We fight very hard to keep our county the RA (rural/agricultural) county that it is, it is very frustrating to have to keep going up against people that want to turn it into commercial.”

Crofton was a rural community, 30-40 years ago, said Ken Riggleman of Lothian. But now, it no longer fits within the rural and agricultural territory that District 7 was intended to be, he said.

“In south county, we’ve historically been a rural/agricultural area. But with Crofton growing the way it has, it just doesn’t fit,” Riggleman said. “The issues they have are not the issues that we have.”

No action was taken at Monday's hearing, but the meeting serves as a way for the commission to gather public input for their plans. Monday was the last scheduled public hearing for redistricting.

The commission will meet throughout August before making a final recommendation in their report to the county council on September 6. For more information, and a complete schedule of the commission, visit the county council’s Web site at http://www.aacounty.org/CountyCouncil.