"For my colleagues, every time you mention redistricting it's like a bad toothache," said Councilwoman Maria Quinones-Sanchez, who represents the 7th District.
Unsurprisingly, much of Council isn't exactly excited about revisiting the issue. But next spring, after the 2010 census, they'll have to redraw the district lines again based on the new population numbers.
The current districts were drawn so each would have about 150,000 residents - or about 10 percent of the city's population in 2000 - but population shifts inevitably change those numbers, forcing the decennial remap.
After the census numbers are released April 1, 2011, Council must pass a plan and get mayoral approval within six months. If it misses that deadline, Council members' pay will be withheld - as stated in the Home Rule Charter - which has happened the last two times.
Former Councilman Angel Ortiz, who served as an at-large member during the 1991 and 2001 redistricting debates, said members should buckle their seat belts.
"Rick Mariano threatened to throw me out the window last time," Ortiz said. "I think it's going to be a struggle. I think a lot of friendships on City Council may be frayed at the end of this."
Here are the key questions facing Council, as members look ahead to the next round of redistricting:
Latino representation
Is the city's Latino population properly represented?
During the last two rounds of redistricting, Latino activists pushed to have a dedicated district for the city's 100,000-plus Latino population - a group that mostly lived in a small section of North Philadelphia, but whose voting power was split among several Council districts.
"It was a struggle," Ortiz said. "Take a look at how the investments take place in this city. If you don't have a seat at the table, the interest of a big population, you get lost in the give and take."
