Council to decide redistricting response to population boom
A resolution passed unanimously Tuesday by the Oklahoma City Council sets the framework for a ward redistricting process, which remains the same as in previous cycles but doesn’t address what the response will be to the city’s increased population.
As the city charter requires, the council must determine whether population changes warrant redrawing of ward boundaries within one year of the reported results of the decennial census to ensure each ward has an equal population.
Census data was released on Sept. 16, according to the resolution brought forward by Ward 8 Councilman Mark Stonecipher.
“In my mind, if it’s not broken, don’t fix it,” said Stonecipher of the city’s process as he explained the desire to clarify the ground rules. “The one thing I’m really fearful of is getting into partisan politics and gerrymandering issues.”
“I would much prefer an independent council being the one doing this — anything we can do to remove any sense of partisanship at the local, state or federal level,”
Ward 2 Councilman James Cooper
The vote confirmed redistricting will be conducted with the same guidelines brought under former Mayor Ron Norick, with focuses on contiguity, compactness, and incumbent residential addresses as well as considering natural borders, roadways, established neighborhoods and voting precincts.
With the vote essentially ensuring that the status quo remains, there was some question as to why the council needed to approve the measure.
“Because of the simplicity, I think we’re all, in some aspects, concerned as to why there is a resolution to pass this in
the first place,” said Ward 7 Councilwoman Nikki Nice.
OKC population boomed in past decade
Oklahoma City is one of 14 American cities where the population grew by more than 100,000 between 2010 and 2020, even as almost two-thirds of Oklahoma counties were losing residents.
Oklahoma City added 101,055 people since the 2010 Census, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
The resolution did not address the potential of increasing the number of wards in response to the city’s population increase, or the possibility of including additional oversight in the process.
“But I would be interested in addressing those and exploring those two conversations in the future if this resolution doesn’t preclude that from happening,” Ward 6 Councilwoman JoBeth Hamon said.
While the council has the authority to involve additional independent oversight of the process, final decisions must be made by the council as laid out in the charter.
“I would much prefer an independent council being the one doing this — anything we can do to remove any sense of partisanship at the local, state or federal level,” said Ward 2 Councilman James Cooper. “That is my strong preference and it’s not even close.”
Discussions between council members, city officials and community stakeholders will determine whether a
new ward will be drawn, the adjustments to current ward boundaries and the involvement of any additional oversight.
Completion of the process and a council vote on ward changes is anticipated to come in April.