Wesleyville, Franklin Township residents among thousands impacted by proposed redistricting plan

Nearly 8,000 Erie County residents could soon be swapping county districts.

At least, that's the intent of a new post-census redistricting plan approved by the Erie County District Revision Commission.

The commission, which was appointed by County Council in accordance with the Home Rule Charter, was tasked to evaluate the 2020 Census results and whether they impacted equity in representation among the county's seven council districts.

Data: 2020 U.S. Census breakdowns for Erie County

After five public sessions, the commission of five Erie County residents — Chairman Thomas Hutzelman; Freda Tepfer, and attorneys Richard Vendetti, Chad Vilushis and Russell Warner — adopted a redistricting plan on Jan. 7.

Here are their recommendations.

What does the plan say?

Erie County's population is declining. According to the 2020 Census, the county's population dropped to 270,876, a decline of roughly 10,000 people since 2010.

Population changes varied among county districts.

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Nearly 8,000 Erie County residents could switch districts if a new post-Census redistricting plan is approved by Erie County Council.
Nearly 8,000 Erie County residents could switch districts if a new post-Census redistricting plan is approved by Erie County Council.

The commission found that 1st District, which includes most of Millcreek Township, and 5th District, which includes the northeast section of the county, had the biggest population gains in 2020, with each totaling 40,932 and 40,820, respectively.

These populations were more than 5% higher than the average district population.

The average district population was 38,697 — or 270,876 divided among the seven council districts.

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Conversely, 2nd District, which includes most of the city of Erie's northern districts and Lawrence Park, and 6th District, which includes the southeast section of the county, saw the biggest population declines in 2020, with each totaling 36,841 and 35,891, respectively.

These populations were more than 5% lower than the 38,697 average.

The commission sought to keep deviations below 5% and settled on a proposal from Hutzelman.

The proposed redistricting plan recommends the following:

  • Move the entire borough of Wesleyville from 5th District to 4th District, affecting 1,730 people.

  • Move Franklin Township from 7th District to 6th District, affecting 1,508 people.

  • Move Erie City, 2nd Ward, 8th District — which uses the Booker T. Washington Center at 1720 Holland St., as a polling place — from 3rd District to 2nd District, affecting 885 people.

  • Move Erie City 3rd Ward, 2nd District — which uses the Salvation Army/Community Center at 1020 Liberty St. as a polling place — from 3rd District to 2nd District, affecting 1,022 people.

  • Move Millcreek Township, 12th District — which uses the New Hope Presbyterian Church at 5440 Washington Ave. as a polling place — from 1st District to 3rd District, affecting 2,831 people.

Under the new plan, the 3rd District will become the county's most populous, with 39,650 people; followed by the 4th, with 39,447; the 5th, with 39,090; the 2nd, with 38,748; the 7th, with 38,441; the 1st, with 38,101; and the 6th, with 37,399.

"It is believed the overall composition of each existing County Council district is not materially changed," the report stated.

Tepfer said she was the only dissenting voice to the proposal, namely because she wanted to see at least one district entirely in the city of Erie.

Public hearing

A public hearing on the plan is scheduled Thursday at 3 p.m. at the Erie County Courthouse in Room 114A. The public can attend in person or join via Zoom at the following link: bit.ly/eriehearing.

Erie County Council members are:

  • 1st District: Terry Scutella (Democrat)

  • 2nd District: Andre Horton (Democrat)

  • 3rd District: Mary Rennie (Democrat)

  • 4th District: Jim Winarski (Democrat)

  • 5th District: Brian Shank (Republican)

  • 6th District: Samuel Bayle (Republican)

  • 7th District: Ellen Schauerman (Republican)

Within one month of the public hearing, County Council, by ordinance, must either adopt the report as submitted or adopt the report with a clause that it may be amended by County Council.

If County Council fails to adopt the ordinance, the Erie County Court of Common Pleas, upon petition of County Council or any five Erie County residents, can intervene and establish the boundaries of the county districts, according to the plan.

A.J. Rao can be reached at arao@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNRao.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Redistricting plan: Thousands of Erie County residents could switch districts