The latest Boston City Council redistricting plan would have little effect on Mission Hill besides moving one precinct. The City Council is set to vote on the plan Wednesday, after the Gazette deadline.
City Councilor Mike Ross, who lives in and represents Mission Hill, said that Ward 10, Precinct 8, which covers part of the Back of the Hill, would move from his District to City Councilor Matt O’Malley’s District 6.
“That appears likely the only change to Mission Hill,” he said.
Ross said there was a “tremendous effort with all hands on deck” during a working session on Oct. 29. He said despite Hurricane Sandy, the entire City Council showed up at City Hall and that the councilors persevered at the table even when a stalemate or a technical problem appeared might end the meeting.
Ross said the final sticking point appears to be South End’s Ward 4, Precinct 3 and whether or not it stays in City Councilor Bill Linehan’s District 2 or is moved to Councilor Tito Jackson’s District 7. The current map has the precinct in District 7.
Redrawing City Council districts is legally required every 10 years after the U.S. Census results are issued to make sure that each district has a roughly equal population. But a major issue is racial and ethnic balance. Mayor Thomas Menino vetoed two previous redistricting plans earlier this year for having minority voters too concentrated within District 4.