City officials approve redistricting proposal for election wards in Cambridge

CAMBRIDGE, Md.- Next year, Cambridge residents hitting the polls will see some differences as they elect new city council members. That’s because the city council recently approved recommendations for the redistricting of the city’s five election districts or wards.

A seven-member Ward Realignment Committee was formed earlier this year and proposed those changes. That committee was made up of appointments by both the city council and the mayor.

City Manager Tom Carroll said the changes will adjust 10 census tracks or blocks, separating four separate geographic areas that would move from one ward to another ward. Only 3% of the city’s total population would be impacted.

Carroll also told 47ABC each ward will gain a portion of the more than 700 new residents the city has welcomed since the last census. He added that the new map will be representative of the area’s diverse community. “And we welcome that. We think that the representation reflects pretty accurately the community’s composition racially,” Carroll said.

“The difference in population between the biggest and smallest wards is only 57 residents. So, the goal was to have as close to even Stevens as you can get.”

Carroll said the changes also call for an amendment to the city’s charter. Those changes will go into effect after the first of the year.