Baltimore County is expanding its council and redrawing districts. It hasn’t been easy.

Rona Kobell

The Baltimore Banner

June 4, 2025

Sticking points include breaking up certain neighborhoods and adding minority representation on the East Side

Baltimore County’s redistricting process is not quite all over but the shouting. The shouting is pretty loud and shows no signs of subsiding.

When the County Council voted last year to expand from seven members to nine, the decision launched a process that will take months, require hours of public officials’ time, and ultimately not please all residents. Clearly, making history can be messy. In the end, the hope is that the County Council will represent the growing and diverse county it governs better.

Baltimore County’s council is one of the most powerful in the nation, in part because its council members have control over zoning, which means deciding the fate of office buildings, parks and housing in a vast territory.

The redistricting commission will meet Thursday, June 5, and Monday in the council chambers and online. Activists lobbying for more minority representation will host a news conference at 5 p.m. Thursday before the meeting at Patriots Plaza in Towson.

Here’s what you need to know about the process.

Why did the County Council decide to expand?

Baltimore County has close to 850,000 residents and is Maryland’s third-largest county. Its population is nearly 50% people of color, about 33% of whom are Black. The county has had the same number of council members since it was founded in 1956, when the county was much smaller. Then, power occasionally passed from fathers to sons; now, six white men and one Black man serve on the council. Voters have elected only five women to the council in its history.

In contrast, four of the eight senators in Baltimore County’s delegation to the Maryland General Assembly are Black.

“You can see the state legislature is moving faster than the council,” said former NAACP president Ryan Coleman, a West Side resident who is pondering a council run. “But the council is the one with the power over zoning.”

Voters only elected a Black member after the federal government forced the county to create a Black-majority district about 20 years ago. Council members long resisted a push to expand because, Coleman said, the powers-that-be didn’t want to dilute their reign over zoning.

That changed in 2022 when two members — Democrats Izzy Patoka of Pikesville and Mike Ertel of Towson — made expanding the council part of their campaign platforms. They convinced their three Republican colleagues to vote for expansion. Voters overwhelmingly approved the change last fall.

What is going on with the new council maps?

As part of the expansion bill, Council member Wade Kach, a Republican, added an amendment to create a redistricting commission so the public could have a say in the maps.

The council did pass a map with the legislation, but it was not binding or part of the charter amendment that voters affirmed in November.

Each council member chose a representative for the commission. The group has been meeting for months to add and subtract precincts to racially balance the new districts and keep areas together that fit culturally, such as rural communities and waterfront neighborhoods.

Has any issue become a sticking point?

Several vocal members of the public, in addition to the ACLU and the NAACP, are pushing for the commission to create a racially diverse district on the East Side, in addition to two majority-Black districts on the West Side.

One issue that has become a sticking point between the ACLU-backed group and a Woodlawn-based group hinges on the question of how to count Black residents who may identify as racially diverse. That’s important because newer residents of color may have preferred candidates who are different from those who have lived here for decades.

Currently, the entire county has one minority-Black district, which Julian Jones represents. Before him, Kenneth Oliver occupied the seat. Oliver and Jones are the only two Black candidates who ever won; others have run and lost in other districts.

The county’s east side is growing quickly, yet, many current residents oppose creating a multiracial district because it would entail splitting up waterfront communities in Middle River, which currently are separated into three districts. They view the new maps as an opportunity to reunite.

David Marks, an Upper Falls Republican who has served on the council since 2010, said the ACLU’s idea of a fair map does not include Republicans — at least not enough of them to have any real power.

“These are out-of-town special interests who have linked up with some of the most partisan in Baltimore County to influence these maps,” Marks said.

He added that the current council passes many bills unanimously, with Democrats and Republicans frequently co-sponsoring bills. It’s one of the attributes he likes best about the council, where many sessions focus on consensus matters like library hours and funding parks.

Other redistricting issues include splitting some Catonsville communities and placing them in a Randallstown district.

Paul Dongarra, who ran for the council against Pat Young in 2022, started a petition to keep Catonsville together.

“This isn’t just a map change,” Dongarra said. “It’s a blow to smart planning, community influence and local accountability.”

Will the new maps lead to more diverse candidates?

It’s hard to say. Some of the declared candidates — or the ones who’ve run previously — have been the most vocal in the redistricting process. They want districts that minority candidates have a chance to win. Some have said they will make their final decision on whether to enter the race based in the final maps.

When will the maps be finalized?

Soon. The commission must submit final recommendations to the council between June 13 and 20. The council will hold a public hearing on the recommendations, probably in early to mid-July. The council’s deadline to adopt the final redistricting bill is Oct. 1.

The council members appointed the commission members, so they will not reject the commission’s suggestions lightly. They also aren’t likely to kiss their election chances goodbye by approving districts they can’t win.

However, significant turnover is likely.

Three council members — Jones, Patoka and Young — are running for county executive. A fourth, Kach, is retiring. Look for Ertel and Republicans Marks and Todd Crandell to make their re-election decisions based on the maps.