Ward Realignment Committee
Meeting Minutes
Thursday, September 21, 2023
6:00 PM
City Hall Conference Room, 410 Academy Street, Cambridge
Committee Members Present: Jim Sicks (chair), Greg Meekins (vice chair), Lou Hyman,
Barbara Knepp, Talibah Chikwendu, Carlos Estin
Committee Members Absent: Tabria Cornish
Staff present: Cheryl Hannan, Scott Shores
Chairman Sicks called the meeting to order at 6:00 PM with a quorum present of himself, Mr.
Meekins, Mr. Hyman, Ms. Knepp, Ms. Chikwendu, and Mr. Estin.
Mr. Meekins made a motion to approve the minutes from last week’s meeting. Ms. Knepp
seconded the motion. All voted in favor. Motion carried, 6-0.
The committee reviewed the realignment options discussed to date and whether there was a
need to make additional adjustments to meet the committee’s goal. Agreement to move 2 small
census blocks to add more population to Ward 3 and reduce Ward 1 and 5 slightly.
Discussed whether it was possible to have more racial diversity in all 5 wards. Ward 1 is heavily
white, and Ward 2 is heavily non-white. Wards 3 and 4 have a majority non-white and Ward 5 is
almost equal between white and non-white. The majority of the committee members believed
the latest iteration of the map under discussion met the need of having compact, contiguous
wards which collectively provide the City’s non-white majority the opportunity to elect
representation proportionate to the racial ratios of the city. Sixty percent (60%) of the City’s total
population is non-white. Under this proposal three (3) Wards, which is equal to 60% of the
wards, have non-white majorities ranging from 66%-84%. In addition, a fourth ward is 49% non-
white. Ward 1 remains with a majority white population, but it has decreased by 10.5% from the
2010 census to be 62% white and 38% non-white.
Mr. Hyman made a motion to present the current iteration to City Council on Monday,
September 25. Mr. Meekins seconded the motion. Motion carried, 4-1-1.
The committee agreed to meet next Thursday night at City Hall to review feedback from City
Council and discuss next steps.
A motion for adjournment was made and approved. Meeting adjourned at 7:00 pm.
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