Boston City Council to try to redraw district maps by May 30

The City Council today agreed to try to redraw lines for the nine district councilors by May 30, the last day city lawyers say the city can use new maps in time to hold preliminary elections on Sept. 12 and final elections on Nov. 7, in a process that, as has become typical, showed a continued fault line between the council majority and its four most conservative members.

Just in case, the council will look at asking the state legislature to let it change dates should redistricting run into a snag, as it did on Monday, when a federal judge ruled the city could not use maps drawn up last November, largely because of the way lines were drawn between the two Dorchester districts, 3 and 4. US District Court Judge Patty Saris ruled that the council plan failed to provide the proof she would have needed under the Voting Rights Act to allow for line tinkering based in part on maintaining at least four districts as "opportunity districts" for minority voters.

City Council President Ed Flynn - who along with councilors Frank Baker, Michael Flaherty and Erin Murphy all used campaign funds to help pay for the lawsuit against the earlier redistricting plan that led to Saris's ruling - initially assigned the redistricting to the Committee of the Whole, which consists of all 12 current councilors and which he would chair.

But Councilor Gabriela Coletta moved to have the matter assigned to the Committee on Civil Rights, chaired by Councilor Ruthzee Louijeune. Coletta said Louijeune is an at-large councilor, so has no particular stake in the boundaries of neighborhood-based districts, and is a lawyer with experience in redistricting.

And, she said, she is worried that a committee chaired by a councilor like Flynn who financially supported a fight against a plan approved by a council majority, would not be seen as fair. She was joined in that assessment by Councilor Liz Breadon (Allston/Brighton), who chaired the previous redistricting effort.

Baker, whose Dorchester district would have had some of its most politically active - and whitest - precincts move to the other Dorchester district, restrained himself to the extent that he only called Breadon the chairwoman of a "disgraced committee," rather than accusing her of being out to commit political genocide against Catholics.

Baker, who didn't even bring up Catholic parish lines - although Flynn cut him off before he was finished - said it was finally time to let all councilors have the sort of say on redistricting. That was something he accused Breadon of not allowing the last time around.

"Not one person, not one person, asked me my opinion on District 3!" Baker, who is not running for re-election, said. "You cut [District 3] up and I had no say!"

Councilor Ricardo Arroyo (Mattapan, Hyde Park, Roslindale), who initially chaired the redistricting effort before Flynn removed him over high-school assault allegations that never went anywhere, said that was interesting, because Baker, Flaherty, Murphy and Flynn "were the loudest voice in the process" and made sure to make their arguments at every point along the way, and that just because they didn't get their way doesn't mean they weren't given a hearing.

Murphy implored her fellow councilors to let them all have a role in drawing up the new lines. "I trust this body, and I trust this body is up for the task, she said, adding that while time might be short, there are 24 hours in a day. "We don't have to think of 10-to-3 days," she said.

After voting 8-4 against assigning the work to the Committee of the Whole, the council then voted 8-4 to let Louijeune's committee - on which Murphy serves as vice chair. Flynn then said he would abide by the vote although he added that he does not feel that he has to under council rules.