Ann Arbor's Ward Boundaries To Be Redrawn

Ann Arbor's ward boundaries will be redrawn to equalize the distribution of the number of registered voters in each of the five wards. However, it is yet to be determined if the redistricting will be done by the city clerk's office, by a bi-partisan committee of the City Council or by a combination of both The final decision on any redistricting plan will be made by city voters. Mayor Cecil O. Creal last night recommended the redistricting to the council and asked that discussion on the matter be held at next Monday's working committee session. "The time has now come, I believe, when we should study the possibility of realigning our ward boundaries so that each ward would be as near as possible in line with the legal equality of each ward," Creal said. "I would like to recommend that this matter be placed on the agenda for the working committee meeting, with the thought that as soon as the registration is closed the first part of October, and final counting of the registered voters in each ward is obtained, a bi-partisan committee of four members from the council, and the city clerk draw up an outline of projected new boundaries for the wards of Ann Arbor," the mayor said. Creal said he made the recommendation "with the possibility that this change in our City Charter could be made in the April, 1965, elections." The mayor, noting that "there are certainly discrepancies between the different wards," said he believed the "pie-s h a p e d" projection is best for the ward boundaries "but the exact division would be up to the committee." The substantial differences in voter registration figures for the wards were pointed up in a story in The News on Friday. As of the Sept. 1 primary election, the city's Third Ward had 8,455 registered voters compared to only 3,732 in the Second Ward, this being the greatest discrepancy. The First Ward had 4,030 registered voters, Fourth Ward 6,051, and the Fifth Ward 7,030. Ann Arbor's pie-shaped" ward boundaries are included in the 1956 City Charter, and any c h a n g e s require a charter amendment. The charter also states that when any ward is 50 per cent larger or smaller than the average of the other wards the boundaries must be changed. Second Ward Councilman WilIiam E. Bandemer, disagreeing with Creal's recommendation for a committee to change the boundaries, said he believed it would be "far better for (City Clerk Fred J.) Looker to re-draw the boundaries rather than get in a redistricting hassle." Noting that the Fourth Ward seemed to be about average, Bandemer suggested that registered voters be transferred from the Third Ward to the Second Ward and from the Fifth Ward to the First Ward. Asked where the requirement was found specifying the council must pass a resolution to redistrict in an even numbered year and submit it to a vote in an odd-numbered year, City Attorney Jacob F. Fahrner Jr. said it was in the City Charter but added "in the event of a great discrepancy" it could be voted on at any election. Third Ward Councilman Paul H. Johnson asked if the redistricting "is not a repetitive thing that should be done automatically." Last night's discussion was ended when the council voted unanimously to refer it to the working committee meeting.