Question lingers for number of Rochester council wards

Mar. 29—ROCHESTER — A question that emerged during public redistricting discussions popped up again as Rochester City Council approved new ward maps.

Does the city need more than its six existing council wards?

"I strongly believe that we need more wards in Rochester," council member Molly Dennis told her fellow council members moments after they unanimously approved the revised map.

The other council members remained silent, but several responded to the question in the following days

"Yes. Add two more wards," council member Kirkpatrick said, noting recent redistricting added another council member to represent a portion of the city's downtown core, which improves accountability.

Council member Patrick Keane said he's open to considering a change, but pointed out that some complexities would need to be addressed, since the city's home-rule charter defines the number of wards.

"Changes to the charter should be approached with caution," he said of the document that guides a variety of city operations.

At least one council member would oppose the change. Three others did not respond to the question.

"With all the issues we deal with, I have never heard the issue come up or a need to expand," council member Shaun Palmer said.

He pointed to Minneapolis, which has 13 council wards with a population of 430,000. It means each Minneapolis council member represents approximately 33,000 people, compared to the 20,000 per ward in Rochester.

A council lack of consensus would mean that changing the number of wards would require a public vote.

City Attorney Michael Spindler-Krage said a charter change has four routes:

* A Charter Commission recommendation followed by unanimous City Council consent after a public hearing.

* The Charter Commission can request the issue be put on a public ballot without the need for council approval.

* The City Council can request a public vote without a Charter Commission recommendation.

* City residents can seek a vote on the issue with a petition representing a number equal to 5% of the votes cast in the last city election.

The potential for a charter change was raised during public comment sessions in early March as drafts of the new ward map emerged and some city residents sought options to ensure at least two wards were considered minority opportunity districts, with more than 30% of residents identified as Black, Indigenous and people of color, commonly known as BIPOC.

Salah Mohamed, a community organizer for Isaiah's Muslim Coalition, said even higher percentages would help ensure at least one council member represented a ward with a majority of non-white residents in a city where approximately 28% of residents identify as BIPOC.

"Let's not wait another 10 years," he said. "Let's find a solution for it."

Rochester Management Analyst Heather Heyer said such an effort would be nearly impossible under existing redistricting rules and guidelines, since Rochester's diverse population is spread throughout the city.

The most diverse area, as defined by federally identified census tracts, is in Northeast Rochester, bordered by U.S. Highway 52 to the west and 55th Street to the north.

With 4,814 residents, 46.3% are nonwhite.

Portions of Southeast Rochester are also more diverse than the city's average, with census tracts showing BIPOC populations ranging from approximately 28% to 35%.

As a result, Heyer said, higher percentages in specific wards would be difficult to obtain without ignoring existing boundaries, which would require a charter change.

"If there were additional wards in Rochester, you essentially would be starting from a blank slate," she said.

The option was discussed by the city's Charter Commission in January, but members opted to wait on further conversation until after the November election to avoid muddling issues.

"Confusing people with what's happening in this election is a problem we shouldn't raise," commission member Ray Schmitz said during the Jan. 11 meeting.

Others agreed, pointing out the discussion would likely take time.

"There's really no way we could affect any change that would affect this coming election," commission member Fran Bradley said. "The timeline for that is almost impossible, really, for this to be properly vetted."

Randy Staver, who rejoined the Charter Commission after stepping down as Rochester City Council president at the end of 2020, pointed to the complexity of the issue, which was part of past council discussions.

He said an odd number of council members is required to avoid tie votes, so a change would need to add two wards or adjust how the council operates.

One past suggestion called for moving the council president into a ward position, with the council choosing a member to lead meetings. Another option would be to give the mayor a council vote, if only one ward is added.

"It starts to get convoluted rather quickly, so we set it on the shelf and didn't do anything with it," Staver said of past council discussions.

Charter Commission members said they consider it a worthwhile discussion topic, but not until after the November election.

"I don't think the fact that the discussion might be laborious should dissuade us from thinking about whether or not the structure of the government that has existed for 40 years, at least as long as I've been here, is adequate to meet the needs going forward," commission member Fred Suhler said.