Reapportionment Advisory Committee

CITY OF NORWALK REAPPORTIONMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE JULY 8, 2024 ZOOM CONFERENCING ATTENDANCE: Diane Cece, Kenneth D’Arinzo, Khea Gibbs, Scott Goodwin, Brenda Penn- Williams, Susan Remson, Stuart Wells OTHERS: Esther Murillo, Assistant City Clerk, Darlene Young, Common Council President, Nora Niedzielski-Eichner, Common Council Majority Leader, Thomas Livingston, Chief of Staff, Sam Mathur, ArcBridge, Priti Mathur, ArcBridge I. CALL TO ORDER Assistant City Clerk Murillo called the meeting to order at 6:01 PM. II. ROLL CALL Assistant City Clerk Murillo called the roll call. A quorum was present. III. INTRODUCTIONS Common Council President Young thanked everyone for participating in the committee to ensure a smooth transition for the city's voting system. She introduced Stuart Wells, the Democratic registrar, and Brian Smith, the Republican registrar, as well as Tom Livingston representing the mayor's office and Miss Nora Niedzielski-Eichner, the majority leader. Mr. Mathur and Ms. Mathur then led a discussion, starting with a PowerPoint presentation to present data and open up for discussions. IV. PRESENTATION OF THE CURRENT DISTRICTS CONFIGURATION WITH 2022 DATA Ms. Mathur presented a detailed analysis of the current Common Council district boundaries in the city and proposed redistricting to better align with the 2020 census population. She emphasized the importance of equal population, compact and contiguous districts, fair representation of minorities, and respecting communities of interest. Ms. Mathur noted the city's population increase by 6.5% since 2010 and the demographic breakdown of the voting age population. She also highlighted discrepancies between the target population of 18,000 per district and the actual population, with district A having the highest population and district C having the least, resulting in a maximum deviation of 18.86%. Ms. Mathur suggested that the current district boundaries were not in line with the census data, indicating a need for redistricting. V. REVIEWING ALTERNATIVE DISTRICT CONFIRGURATIONS Ms. Mathur presented two options to manage the population in District A. The first option involved making small changes in Districts A, C, and E, which reduced the maximum deviation to 2.91%. The second option did not involve any changes to Districts E and B, but assigned an area to District C, reducing the maximum deviation to 4.78%. Ms. Mathur emphasized that both options complied with the requirements of equal population, contiguous districts, and consideration of minority groups and neighborhoods. She left it for further discussion and decision. VI. DISCUSSION Ms. Mathur explained the nuances of how census data is used to determine redistricting, focusing on the separation of Hispanic and non-Hispanic white categories to avoid double counting. With Ms. Cece raised questions about the impact of minority representation and how it relates to age, as well as the unique situation in Norwalk with taxing districts. Registrar of voters, Mr. Wells, clarified that state representation remains unchanged and that the proposed changes would not affect taxing districts. The team also discussed the potential impact on polling places and the need for a detailed analysis of the proposed maps. With Ms. Cece requested more detailed information for offline review, including a PowerPoint presentation and interactive maps. She also raised questions about census factors for non- responsive populations and the effect of zoning changes driving density in specific neighborhoods. Ms. Mathur clarified that they use census numbers only and explained the process of redistricting based on census data, with the goal of keeping deviation between the most and least populated districts under 10%. The team planned to evaluate two redistricting options and consider their impact on neighboring districts. With Ms. Cece inquired about the potential impact of changes within the city, particularly the shift of a large company to the redevelopment agency and its link to census data. Ms. Mathur proposed providing large, detailed PDF maps and a link for interactive map viewing for the team to review and gather feedback. With Ms. Cece raised concerns about the neighborhood association boundaries and suggested an offline review. It was agreed that the PowerPoint presentation and maps would be sent out as soon as possible, with the detailed maps to be provided by the following afternoon. The team also discussed the potential for interactive maps, which Ms. Mathur confirmed would be explored further. The team discussed the importance of a strict timeline for an upcoming project, with a deadline set for September 30th, 2025. The team confirmed that this timeline was based on the 2025 election cycle and the need to complete district nominations well before the primaries. Council President Young and Council Majority Leader Niedzielski-Eichner agreed to further investigate the origins of this deadline, and Assistant City Clerk Murillo was tasked with scheduling the next meeting and gathering questions for the group. The team also considered the need for consistent meeting schedules and decided to appoint Assistant City Clerk Murillo as the point of contact for questions VII. NEXT STEPS ArcBridge team to provide detailed PDF maps with population data for each census block. ArcBridge team to explore creating interactive maps for public review. ArcBridge team to add a timeline slide to the presentation showing key dates and deadlines. Assistant City Clerk Murillo to schedule future meetings and share the timeline with the committee. Committee members to review provided materials and send questions to Assistant City Clerk Murillo for distribution to the group. VIII. ADJOURNMENT Ms. Cece moved to adjourn the meeting. Mr. Goodwin seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting ended at 6:54 PM. Respectfully submitted, Esther Murillo Assistant City Clerk