The 6th Congressional District — Keep Our North Shore District

It is that time each decade. The census figures from 2010 have been tabulated. The purpose of the census is to determine the population of the country and each state. Once that is done, the distribution of seats in the US Congress is done over again to re-align  the numbers of Congressmen from each state as populations in the states shift over time.

This time, Massachusetts population’s growth rate didn’t keep up with the national average. Thus we did not increase our population sufficiently enough to maintain 10 seats in the Federal House of Representatives. So, effective with the 2012 presidential primary, Massachusetts will have 9 congressional districts and with that 9 congressional men or women. Thus one of the present congressmen will lose his/her seat.

There are some basic rules that apply to the process of redistricting. Of course, to assure fair representation of all the state’s population “the population of each district must be as nearly equal as possible. The voting rights of minorities cannot be denied” * or abridged intentionally or not. There are a list of traditional districting principles, some unspoken, which are also followed. They are: compactness, contiguity, preservation of political boundaries, preservation of communities of interest, preservation of “cores of prior districts,"  protection of incumbents and compliance with section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.

Geographical concerns:

The 6th district has been a North Shore district since the 1870’s. Thus we have a long period of continuity, a plus in deciding how to shape the district. Not knowing the history of the other districts, I can not say how much of an advantage that is for the current 6th District.

More importantly is the compact nature of this district, with the boundaries of New Hampshire all across the northern border of the district, the Atlantic Ocean the eastern geographical boundary and the immediate suburbs of Boston, MA to the south. The Western most boundary includes towns which are considered as part of the “North” Shore such as Merrimac, Groveland, and Boxford. ** We do need to add appx. 72,000 people from neighboring towns so that the all the district population numbers will be more or less the same.

Political entities concerns the idea that entire towns, cities or counties be kept intact as much as humanly possible. The current 6th district takes almost all of Essex county. This political boundary could be kept in better compactness if the current towns from Essex that are assigned to District 5 could be reassigned back to the 6th District.

Political realities:

Each of the sitting Congressmen and woman are out for protecting their district and by so doing protecting their livelihood. The legislature has formed a Joint Committee for the purpose of redistricting to report back to the larger bodies in the fall. They are holding town hall meetings in each district to receive input from the people who live in the districts. There is one scheduled for the Sixth District on June 20, 7 p.m. at Lynn City Hall. Any resident of the 6th congressional district is invited to come regardless of party affiliation or none. The purpose of the meeting is to provide input to the Joint Committee on Redistricting to keep the 6th congressional district largely as it is now with additional towns or cities added to make up the needed population deficiency.

Indeed all the other districts are providing the same information. Why would the 6th congressional district have a better reason to remain basically intact?

First is the issue of “communities of interest.” These are business related, educational and social/cultural. How do people living in the 6th district relate to one another? Many people will tell the casual  acquaintance that they live on the North Shore or in a town  which is on the North Shore. In that way we are also defined by such common interests as commercial fishing, tourism, recreational boating and sailing and other such activities that reflect our proximity to the Atlantic Ocean. Even though it has been many years since one’s own family “took to the sea in ships,” that memory lives on as we play on the beaches, dip into the freezing cold water or sit on Nahant Beach facing Boston and watch the sunset after a long, glorious summer day.

Such entities as the North Shore Chamber of Commerce link this region’s businesses into a regional planning entity for private/public development. The many colleges and universities in the area cater to the wider North Shore community, including North Shore Community College, Salem State University, Endicott College, Montserrat College of Art and others. Although all of these are most directly involved in their town or city, their reach expands throughout the North Shore, and beyond. This educational connection within the region is one which is identified as being a North Shore resource and a way for the communities around these colleges to make use of important resources such as studies of the region.

This fight to maintain the basic integrity of District 6 is one of those important civic duties that is worth the effort to make the time to attend at least this one meeting on June 20, at 7 pm at Lynn City Hall. The greater number of people who attend the more of an impact the presentations made to the board will have. This is another example how in politics nothing is ever done alone, and that all politics are local in the end.



* Peter Feuerbach, Massachusetts Congressional Redistricting Law (memo) p. 1
** Commonwealth of Massachusetts, US Congressional Districts, Chapt. 29 of Acts of 2002