Draft House, Senate Districts Likely Soon

Republican Rep. Mike Soter (Bellingham) recently endorsed his Democrat colleague, Franklin  Rep. Jeff Roy, seen here at a Chilson Beach recycling event.  Both seem likely to come through redistricting without much difficulty.

With the calendar turning to October on Friday, it's increasingly likely that Massachusetts Democratic leaders will release a draft map of new House and Senate districts within the next two weeks, according to one top Democrat, while the committee working on the decennial redistricting project may take longer with a new Congressional seat map.

The COVID-19 pandemic delayed the release of 2020 Census data to the state until mid-August, adding to the pressure lawmakers face to propose, debate and agree upon redrawn district boundaries.

The time crunch is particularly acute for House candidates, who must make sure they live in their new districts by Nov. 8 in order to qualify to compete in those districts in 2022.

When accounting for the 10 days Gov. Charlie Baker will get to review the final maps and the seven days for public review that the Joint Committee on Redistricting has expressed interest in before holding a final hearing, draft maps would have to be released by mid-October to meet the deadline.

"That's consistent with what we're looking at as a timeline. We haven't nailed down a date, but that is consistent," said Assistant House Majority Leader Michael Moran, who co-chairs the Committee on Redistricting with Senate President Pro Tempore William Brownsberger.

Even if the Legislature beat the Nov. 8 deadline, House candidates, including incumbent lawmakers, would have little or no time to consider moving in order to meet the residency requirement.

Moran acknowledged that reality, but said he was optimistic it wouldn't become a problem for any incumbents.

"At this point in time it doesn't look like that will be necessary," Moran said.

State Representative Michael Soter (R- Bellingham) stated in mid-September that he thought a major change in either his district or that of State Reprentative Jeff Roy, (D-Franklin) was not too likely but speculated that changes in the state senate districts could impact Senator Ryan C. Fattman, a Republican who serves the Worcester and Norfolk district.

During the last round of redistricting, two House lawmakers moved rather than run against one of their colleagues.

Rep. Paul Mark, a Democrat, moved from Hancock to Peru to avoid being in the same district as his colleague, the late Gailanne Cariddi of North Adams. Then-Rep. Paul Adams, Republican, also moved within the town of Andover to get out of the same district as then-Rep. Jim Lyons. Adams ultimately decided to run for Senate instead of trying to stick in the House in a new district, and lost to Sen. Barry Finegold.

The timeline for a new Congressional district map could be even longer given that members of Congress do not face any of the same residency requirements as House lawmakers, Moran said, and he's unclear whether districts for the eight members of the Governor's Council will be released with House and Senate maps, or later.

The 2020 Census showed that Massachusetts' population climbed to over 7 million people over the last decade, a 7.4 percent increase that outpaced the 4.1 percent average growth rate in the Northeast and equaled the growth rate of the country as a whole.

The population count ensured that Massachusetts could keep all nine seats in the U.S. House, after losing one seat in the last round of apportionment. While the boundaries of those districts are expected to shift based on population trends, legislative leaders have already said it's unlikely any member of Congress would find themselves in the same district as another incumbent.

Asked whether Congressional maps could be expected at the same time as legislative district maps, Moran said, "It doesn't look like we will be able to do that."

Proposed maps released this week by the Drawing Democracy Coalition that were designed to maximize minority representation on Beacon Hill would put Rep. Donald Wong, a Saugus Republican, in the same district as Rep. Jessica Giannino, a Revere Democrat, and Rep. Smitty Pignatelli and Mark would find themselves in the same Berkshire County district.

Sen. Brendan Crighton, of Lynn, would also see his district change substantially, under the coalition map, and if it were adopted he could wind up in the same district as the winner of the January special election to replace former Sen. Joseph Boncore, of Winthrop.

Within Franklin, new population numbers will require the addition of at least one  precinct to the eight currently on the map. However, according to Town Clerk Nancy Danello, the change will not occur until after the current municipal election is completed.

-- State House News Service Matt Murphy and additional reporting by Alan Earls, Franklin Observer