Politics & Government

Governor Patrick Signs Congressional Redistricting Bill

Medfield will officially shift from Stephen Lynch's 9th Congressional District to Barney Frank's 4th Congressional District.

It's official, Medfield will be represented once again by Congressman Barney Frank.

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick signed House Bill 3798, “An Act Establishing Congressional Districts” Monday, making the Special Joint Committee on Redistricting's proposal for new state Congressional Districts official.

The plan moves Medfield from Stephen Lynch's 9th Congressional District to Frank's 4th Congressional District. The redistricting plan was approved two weeks ago and sent to Governor Patrick's desk for his signature. Here's a look at several changes as a result of House Bill 3798 being signed.

Find out what's happening in Medfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

  • The minority population of the Eighth Congressional district, held by Congressman Michael Capuano, will grow from 52 percent to 56.6 percent.
  • The districts of Congressmen William Keating and Stephen Lynch would change dramatically, putting the two into the same district unless Congressman Keating moves to his summer house on Cape Cod, something that he announced earlier this week that he would do. Cape Cod would be part of a new, incumbent free district that would stretch from the Cape and Islands across Plymouth and Bristol County to Fall River.
  • Congressman Lynch would lose some Boston neighborhoods and would pick up the suburban city of Quincy and parts of the South Shore.
  • Western Massachusetts communities currently represented by retiring Congressman John Olver would be split among the two districts currently represented by Congressman James McGovern and Congressman Richard Neal.
  • Congressman McGovern’s Third Congressional District would expand westward to absorb Worcester, Hampshire, and Franklin counties as well as Northampton and Amherst.
  • Congresswoman Nikki Tsongas’s district would gain the communities Gardner, Pepperell, Clinton, Fitchburg, Lunenburg, and Marlborough while losing Billerica, Tewksbury, and part of Andover.

“My thanks go out to our legislative leaders and members of the Joint Special Committee on Redistricting for coming together and completing this extraordinary task,” said Patrick. “The districts adhere to Constitutional guidelines and were created through an open and transparent process. Most importantly, these new districts are regionally balanced and reflect the Commonwealth’s diversity.”

In Medfield, the switch from Stephen Lynch's to Barney Frank's Congressional District has not been met with much approval among Medfield Patch readers. According to a , 67 percent (33 votes) of 49 voters said they would rather have Lynch represnting Medfield in Congress. Thirty-two percent (16 votes) of 49 voters chose Frank.

Find out what's happening in Medfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

To view the new Congressional maps, click here.


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