Posted on 06/18/25
| News Source: FOX45
Baltimore County, MD - June 18, 2025 - The Baltimore County Redistricting Commission just released their final report and map, but it's not clear if it will garner enough support among Council members.
This new map, now with nine districts, comes as voters approved a charter amendment, expanding the County Council from seven members to nine.
"We'll have more council members than we've had in the past, and most importantly, we're going to have more opportunity for women and people of color to gain elected office in Baltimore County," said County Council member Izzy Patoka.
The final map, which needs to be approved by County Council members, includes two majority Black districts, and two majority BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) districts. The remaining five districts are majority White districts.
"I have been studying the map as best I can, and I can see a lot of good things in the map. I want to really hear from my community before I really pass 100% judgment," said Baltimore County Council member Julian Jones.
However, the new map has received some pushback.
"What we've heard from our Republican colleagues is they don't believe that they will support this map," Patoka said. "However, I think that we can work and try to tweak the map, and then we can tweak it into a way that will generate five votes."
Councilman David Marks has expressed concerns about the redistricting commission's plan, saying there was a "partisan objective" to the map. Others have also voiced concerns that the map divides communities.
In an email to County Council members, former Baltimore Mayor Former Bernard C. ”Jack” Young, who now lives in the county, said, "I am disappointed that the map appears to be gerrymandered to create a predominantly black district."
"As someone who has first-hand experience in winning an election in a predominantly white district while still having the support of both black and white voters, I believe that compacting a district based on racial demographics is counterproductive to our goals," the email continues.
There were disagreements, even among members of the redistricting commission.
While the map received a 4-to-3 vote from the Commission, with the majority of the Commission feeling it was equitable, John Dulina, the 5th Council District Representative said he felt the map "splits communities for political gain," fracturing areas like Middle River for "political purposes, not community representation," according to the report.
"I support the map. I I can't say that I support it as it is completely because it's going to need five votes," Patoka said. "We have four Democrats, three Republicans, if, if all of the Democrats support it, which is a big if, the very big if, we still need one Republican vote. So what I support is a map that is a better map that gets five votes."
"I haven't decided whether or not I'm going to vote for it or not, and I am cognizant of the fact that once we walk away from this map and start making tweaks, all hell breaks loose," Jones said.
"Hopefully we can get to some consensus on the Council, and if it means making the tweaks, although I may not want it, if that's what it takes to get a better map done, then I'll do that," he added.
The County Council has until October to come to an agreement on the new map.