The Boston City Council voted Wednesday to approve the revised redistricting plan, ending more than a year of deliberations.
The 7–6 vote passes the proposed redistricting map to Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, who vetoed a similar proposal on Sept. 6 on the basis of unequal opportunity.
“This map does no better or no worse than the map that was presented to the mayor in a 7–6 vote on addressing this issue [of appropriately representing District 4],” said Councilor Bill Linehan, of South Boston, who opposed the vote during the meeting.
The redistricting has been under attack by organizations in the Coalition of Communities of Color, such as the Massachusetts civic education initiative Oiste and the Boston branch of the National Associate of the Advancement of Colored People.
Councilor Tito Jackson of Roxbury, a main proponent of the redistricting, said the current map, while not perfect, is ideal for the redistricting.
“This map is one that keeps many of our communities together,” he said. “… It definitely keeps the integrity of District 2 [South End and South Boston] — it keeps many of the communities together and is a very good take at what we can and should see in the next 10 years.”
Councilor Charles Yancey of Dorchester said that while 53 percent of Boston residents are people of color, the proposed map only represents 44 percent. He also criticized how the map fails to “unite Mattapan.”
City Councilors Matt O’Malley, Frank Baker, Ayanna Pressley, John Connolly, Felix Arroyo and Michael Ross voted with Jackson for the map.
Voting against the map with Linehan and Yancey were City Council President Stephen Murphy of Hyde Park and Councilors Mark Ciommo, Robert Consalvo and Salvatore LaMattina.
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