La Porte council introduces redistricting ordinance, opens public hearing on two rival maps

The La Porte Common Council on June 2 introduced an ordinance to redraw the city’s five councilmanic districts and opened a public hearing on competing maps submitted under the council’s redistricting guidelines.

The ordinance — read in full at the meeting — adopts a redistricting plan prepared by the council-appointed redistricting coordinator and sets the new districts for elections beginning in 2027. Council President Franke moved to introduce the ordinance; the motion was seconded and approved on a voice vote.

The council said it received two plans for consideration: one prepared by the coordinator and one submitted by Common Cause Indiana. Brian Bosma, the redistricting coordinator, told the council the plans were “remarkably similar” but recommended the coordinator’s plan because it had a lower total population deviation and fewer precinct splits.

Why it matters: Indiana law requires municipalities to redistrict after a federal decennial census. The council’s choice will determine ward boundaries that affect which voters elect each council member and which precincts are grouped together for future city elections.

Key facts and numbers: the coordinator’s plan has a total deviation of 3.78% and splits two precincts (La Porte 27 and La Porte 44). The Common Cause plan has a total deviation of 4.67% and splits three precincts (La Porte 27, La Porte 30 and La Porte 40, with additional splits noted). The ordinance text references Indiana Code sections required for municipal redistricting and instructs the Clerk-Treasurer to mail required notices to the La Porte County Circuit Court Clerk.

At the hearing, Julia Vaughn, executive director of Common Cause Indiana, commended the council’s transparent process and said her group’s map was drawn “incumbent blind” and followed the council’s criteria, although it split precincts to achieve population equality. Bosma said the coordinator’s plan intentionally minimized changes to current districts to preserve “the core of each current council district” and reduce voter confusion.

The council published notice of the district division in the La Porte County Herald-Dispatch on May 9 and May 16, 2025, and held the public hearing on June 2, 2025. Council members said the ordinance will move to the June meeting for final consideration.

Discussion versus decision: the meeting record shows discussion, presentation of two plans, and public testimony. The formal action taken at the meeting was introduction of the ordinance for first reading; the council did not adopt final district boundaries on June 2 and scheduled final approval for a future meeting.

What’s next: the ordinance was introduced and will return to the council for final approval in June. The Clerk-Treasurer is directed by the ordinance text to notify the county circuit court clerk as required by state statute.