Ward 7 Activists Force Redistricting Changes: Kingman Park and Rosedale Will be Part of Ward 7

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Ward 7 Activists Force Redistricting Changes Kingman Park and Rosedale Will be Part of Ward 7

by Elizabeth O’Gorek

Over the last ten years, Ward 7 and Ward 8 have not experienced the kind of economic growth that the rest of the city has,” former Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner (ANC) 7B Villareal Johnson said at a meeting of the DC Council Subcommittee on Redistricting on Oct. 23. “The best way to help Ward 7 and Ward 8 is increasing the population. You say, ‘How does increasing the population help Ward 7 and Ward 8?’ Well, it’s about power. It’s about political power. It’s about giving them more voters,” he said.

In the public meetings on redistricting, many Ward 7 residents argued for the inclusion of a commercial corridor and a significant expansion in their ward’s population. Redistricting, they said, provided an opportunity for historically Black communities to secure an increased voice in District politics and economic development.

However, when the Subcommittee voted to approve its draft map on Nov. 19, Ward 7 exited the first phase of the redistricting process much the same way it came in. The scheme left the ward with the lowest population. It also apportioned it no additional commercial corridors. Ward 7 activists chose to fight.

Under the banner of Ward 7 Redistricting Equity Coalition (W7REC), residents successfully challenged the Subcommittee map. Led by W7REC, all Ward 7 Advisory Neighborhood Commissions (ANC) voted to request that DC Council increase the ward’s population by retaining Kingman Park and annexing Rosedale from Ward 6. In response, DC Council voted on Dec. 7 to revise the Subcommittee’s map, putting it more in line with W7REC’s recommendations.

Dissatisfaction

The Redistricting Subcommittee voted to approve a Draft Map on Nov. 19. It expanded Ward 7 into Ward 6, increasing the population of Ward 7 by 5,742 people. Ward 7 remained the smallest ward, however. At a proposed 81,997, it was 2,663 smaller than Ward 4, the next smallest. The Subcommittee also chose to return Kingman Park to Ward 6, rather than keeping it in Ward 7. Kingman Park had been annexed to Ward 7 in the 2001

redistricting plan. Kingman Park sued to be returned to Ward 6, but the effort failed. The Subcommittee’s map added no commercial corridors to Ward 7. In their report, the Subcommittee acknowledged the lack of significant economic activity on the Capitol Hill area east of Eighth Street SE. However, they justified their action by pointing to major developments expected at Reservation 13 and on the RFK Stadium Campus over the next decade. The map was a compromise, Silverman told ANC 7D. “There were last minute concessions made, and that’s what impacted Ward 7’s population.” Initially, the Subcommittee map put the border between Ward 6 and 7 at East Capitol Street, uniting the majority Black neighborhoods of Rosedale and Kingman Park in Ward 6. “Toward the end when I previewed the map to colleagues, there were concerns and I made some adjustments,” Silverman said. “And that’s what impacted Ward 7’s population.” Ward 7 residents made their dissatisfaction clear. “I want to send a message to Silverman and my dear friend Anita [Bonds],” Ward 7 resident Barbara Morgan said at a Monday night press conference organized by W7REC. “Those of you who don’t support this plan: don’t exImage: Ward 7 community leaders and residents at a Dec. 6 press conference. Groups united as the Ward 7 Redis- pect support from Ward 7. We tricting Equity Coalition to demand changes to the redistricting plan submitted by the DC Council Subcommittee. said what we wanted, we held that Photo: E.O’Gorek/CCN meeting over at Marshall Heights. Either you do what we ask, or we will meet you at the ballot box.” In a Nov. 30 letter to Mendelson, Ward 7 Councilmember Vincent Gray (D) added his voice, calling the Subcommittee plan “unacceptable.” He described the Subcommittee’s drawing of Ward 7 as “unnecessarily and ill-advisedly

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202-546-5940 | supporterinfo@smyal.org | 410 7th Street., SE WDC 20003 undersized.” Arguing for additional population, he also demanded Kingman Park be reunited in Ward 7.

W7REC Demands

In public hearings leading up to the draft map Ward 7 residents and civic leaders made two requests of the Subcommittee. First, the new boundaries must contain signi cantly more people. Second, they must incorporate new commercial corridors. In letters written prior to the release of the Subcommittee’s plan, both the Marshall Heights Community Development Organization (MHCDO) and Pennsylvania Avenue East Main Streets (PAEMS) both requested that a new Ward 7 have a population 5% higher than Wards 1, 2, 4 and 5. This, they argued, would ensure equal representation over the next decade.

“Ward 7 needs to be on a growth trajectory and guard against weakening of the voices of minorities,” said Julie Rones. “Years prior, Ward 7 expanded and achieved population goals not necessarily designed to promote future growth,” she said, pointing to the absorption of DC Jail in 2010.

Many Ward 7 residents at the hearings and in written missives demanded their ward expand expansion north and west above Benning Road. This expansion, they argued, would unite neighborhoods that already have points of commonality such as Main Street organizations and schools. Ward 7 Democrats’ Chair Wendell Felder demanded the ward’s expansion include Banning Road and Hechinger Mall. Others proposed annexing the National Arboretum, Langston Carver and even Fort Lincoln.

Ward 7 demands proposals met with immediate resistance from the Subcommittee. “Here we go--the battle begins,” was the response of At-Large Councilmember and Subcommittee member Anita Bonds (D) to these suggestions. She could think of no good reason for Fort Lincoln to become a part of Ward 7. Ward 5 Councilmember Kenyan McDu e (D), she stated, had been clear that the Ward 5 boundaries should remain untouched. McDu e, taking time o from Howard University Homecoming, appeared at the meeting in his school hoodie to argue against the recommendations.

Ward 7 Councilmember Vincent Gray (D) fell ill during the last two weeks of redistricting discussions. He missed a Dec. 2 meeting with ANC 6B due to a cold, but attended a meeting with ANC 7D the following day visibly ill. On Dec. 6, aides announced that Gray had been admitted to hospital the previous weekend complaining of a persistent cough. While in hospital, the 79-year-old former Mayor su ered what was described as a “mild stroke.” While reportedly in good spirits, Gray was unable to attend the Council’s rst vote on the redistricting plan on Dec. 7.

Enter Mendelson

Chairman Phil Mendelson swiftly moved to broker a compromise, sources familiar with the redistricting process said. The Committee of the Whole revised the Subcommittee’s map retaining Kingman Park in Ward 7 and adding Rosedale as well. The new boundary ran straight down 15th Street from Benning Road NE to Potomac Avenue SE. The Dec. 7 COW report directly acknowledged that these alterations were designed to tap down Ward 7’s discontent. These changes were approved by the full Council on its rst reading on Dec. 7.

Gray commended COW’s revised map. It “draws Ward 7 fairly and equitably,” he said in a statement from his hospital bed. “The boundaries included in the Ward Redistricting Amendment Act of 2021 circulated by Mendelson signal that the Council has heard the outcries from leaders across Ward 7 and responded appropriately,” he added.

Ward 7 activists remained skeptical. “What they’ve proposed is an improvement over what the committee has put forth,” Karim Marshall, second vice chair of the Ward 7 Democrats, at a press conference following the COW announcement. “But let’s be clear: what they’ve proposed is equal but not equitable. Getting just the same as what everyone else has gotten so far is insuf cient. It’s not enough to erase the decades of disinvestment on this side of the river.”

The Council will hold a second vote on the redistricting plan on Dec. 21. ◆