TOWSON, MD—The Baltimore County Council on Monday night voted 5-2 to approve a new nine-district councilmanic redistricting map, concluding more than a year of intense debate over how to balance community interests with the need for increased minority representation.
The final legislation, amended during the council meeting, creates two majority-Black districts on the county’s western side. It also includes one majority-minority district. The changes were spearheaded by Council Chair Mike Ertel and Councilman Izzy Patoka, both Democrats.
All three Republican council members—Wade Kach, David Marks, and Todd Crandell—also voted in favor of the map. Each of the majority-Black districts will have a Black population of just over 50%. This differs slightly from the council’s original proposal in early August.
Baltimore County’s population has become increasingly diverse since it adopted a charter government in 1956. The council acknowledged that the new map would not satisfy everyone. “It just feels like no matter what we do, there’s no good answer,” Ertel said.
The bill required five affirmative votes to pass, according to the county charter. Councilman Julian Jones, a Woodstock Democrat, and Councilman Pat Young, a Catonsville Democrat, were the only votes against the measure. They had sought to introduce alternative plans and extend the public review period for the changes.
Young’s proposed plan was based on the recommendation from the county’s 2025 redistricting commission, which suggested two majority-Black districts and two additional districts for racial and ethnic minorities. Jones had proposed minor adjustments to the council’s original plan.
The council faced an Oct. 1 deadline to adopt the new districts, which limited the time for additional consideration.
Following the vote, it remained unclear whether a legal challenge would be filed against the new map. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Maryland, which previously sued the county over redistricting in 2021, had sent a letter to the council and county attorney on September 6, stating that the organization had been “authorized to bring litigation and intend[s] to promptly file a challenge” if the August proposal was enacted.
Nehemiah Bester, a spokesperson for the ACLU, declined to comment Monday on the possibility of a lawsuit, stating that the organization would “look at all our options.”
In a statement released after the vote, Fifth District Councilman David Marks praised the outcome. “I applaud the other members of the Baltimore County Council who supported a fair, bipartisan redistricting map that creates competitive districts where qualified candidates of either party can win,” he said. “This map meets our legal obligations while preserving many communities to the greatest extent possible.”
He also added, “Last-minute attempts by partisan Democrats to gerrymander Baltimore County were an absolute failure. Baltimore County is not the State of Maryland; it isn’t California or Texas. We reject extreme partisanship and produced a map where qualified candidates of either party can win.”
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