O F F I C E O F V I N CE N T C .

G R A Y
W A R D 7 C O U N C I L ME M B E R
C H A I R M A N , C O M MI T T E E O N HE A LT H
COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Takiyah “T.N.” Tate

Tuesday, November 30, 2021 ttate@dccouncil.us | (202) 705-2980

Councilmember Vincent C. Gray Pushes for a

More Equitable Redistricting of Ward 7

Washington, DC – Ward 7 Councilmember and former Mayor Vincent C. Gray, in a letter to

Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, outlined several concerns that he shares with the Ward 7
community regarding the final redistricting map approved by the Council’s Subcommittee on
Redistricting. Upon reviewing the redrawn Ward 7 boundaries and hearing the outcries for greater
fairness and equity from leaders across Ward 7, Gray issued the following statement:

“While I respect the effort of the Subcommittee, the resulting final redistricting map is
unacceptable to the Ward 7 community. Currently, the Subcommittee's proposal leaves Ward 7
unnecessarily and ill-advisedly undersized with the smallest population at 81,997 residents, just
114 residents above the minimum. It strips us of a part of the Kingman Park neighborhood that
has been an active and established community in Ward 7 for 20 years. We can and should retain
that portion of Kingman Park and add the census tract containing the remainder of Kingman Park
and Rosedale. Any other distribution would ultimately treat Ward 7 unfairly. The ANC
Commissioner for the portion of Kingman Park already in Ward 7, Tamara Blair, advocated for
Kingman Park to be unified in Ward 7. The Ward 7 Democrats, the Ward 7 State Board of
Education representative, leaders of the Ward 7 Advisory Neighborhood Commissions (7B, 7C,
7D, 7E, 7F) and leaders of Ward 7 Civic & Citizen Associations all support restoring and
unifying the Kingman Park community to Ward 7 and strongly oppose the proposed “final”
redistricting map approved by the Subcommittee on Redistricting. Additionally,” continued
Gray, “the Subcommittee’s proposal moves The Fields at RFK to Ward 6, and there is no
legitimate argument in support of this change that clearly represents another unnecessary taking
from Ward 7. We must ensure that Reservation 13, RFK Stadium and The Fields at RFK stay in
Ward 7.”

“Therefore, I look forward to a favorable response to my letter from the Council’s Chairman. I
welcome the opportunity to continue to work with my colleagues and Ward 7 leaders to approve
a redistricting map that is fair, equitable and acceptable to Ward 7 residents, especially our
Kingman Park residents and neighbors.
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