The county's Redistricting Commission decided last night on three proposals for redrawing councilmanic districts that will be presented to the public for comment before a favorite is sent to the County Council in October.
With little debate, the commission concluded that two Democratic proposals and a Republican one will be the focus of a Sept. 13 public hearing.
The commission agreed that proposals by Republican Michael J. Deets and Democrats Priscilla M. Hart and David Marker would be the finalists.
Drawing new County Council district boundaries is necessary to reflect population shifts recorded in the 2000 census.
The process is a struggle between Democrats, who are trying to protect their majority on the council, and Republicans, who are outnumbered on the commission and the council.
A Republican plan submitted last month that attempted to dislodge a Democratic incumbent was altered last night. Deets changed his plan, which would have removed Democratic Councilman Guy J. Guzzone from District 3 (North Laurel/Savage), improving Republican chances to gain the seat and win control of the council. Instead, Deets proposed to have Guzzone's district include more of the U.S. 1 corridor near Jessup and not the North Laurel area.
"I'm hoping that will be more to his liking," Deets said before the meeting.
Commission Chairman David Marker had criticized Deets' earlier plan, calling it "pretty awkward."
"It's the kind of thing that they would have to do to try to maximize Republican representation," Marker said.
Deets' revised plan aims to unite the southern part of the county by having most of it in District 4 instead of its current division between Districts 3 and 4.
"I'm hoping that because there is no incumbent in District 4, the Democrats will find that acceptable," Deets said.
Deets said he had preferred his earlier proposal, which had limited Columbia to two districts. "I never bought into the idea that a community that represents 40 percent of the county's population should get 60 percent of the County Council," he said.
Last month, the commission considered five proposals - three from Democrats and two from Republicans - that attempted to keep districts closer to the new ideal population of 49,568. According to the 2000 census, two Howard council districts are beyond the 5 percent variation from the new ideal average population. Guzzone's District 3 is 9.5 percent under, and Republican Councilman Christopher J. Merdon's District 1 (Ellicott City/Elkridge) is 5.5 percent over.
The Democratic plans focused on strengthening the party in Districts 2, 3 and 4, which include Columbia and vicinity.
Hart's proposal suggested extending the boundaries of District 4 to include Johns Hopkins Road in the south and Old Annapolis Road in the north.
Marker's proposal, submitted last night, aims to prevent neighborhoods from being split by district boundaries. His plan would put all of Owen Brown village, except seven houses on a cul-de-sac, in District 3. The community is divided by existing boundary lines, with about 8,000 residents in District 3 and 2,000 in District 2.
"We go from 2,000 people not being in that district to about 25," he said.
Marker also said he wants district boundaries that do not "dilute the voting strength" of minority groups. He said blacks are primarily in the Democratic-dominated Districts 2, 3 and 4.
"Any plan that doesn't keep them strong in three districts could be attacked for weakening minority representation," he said.
Republican member Warren E. Miller said District 2, 3 or 4 should contain a relatively even number of Democratic and Republican voters, making it more competitive for both parties. He said that though the county is primarily Democratic, Republicans feel they are "close to having parity."
Miller said that with Democrats controlling the commission, 4-3, and the council, 3-2, the Republicans won't have much of a say.
"Without another vote, we're not going to have a pull on drawing this map," he said.
