A Baltimore County panel on Tuesday night sent its plan for redrawing political maps to the County Council, but it might end up being dead on arrival.

The county’s redistricting commission voted 4-3 last week to recommend a new map that would create two majority-Black districts on the west side of the county, and two majority-minority districts — one each on the county’s east and west sides.

The council’s three Republicans issued a statement saying they “stand united against the partisan map advanced by this commission.”

The maps require the approval of five of the council’s seven members. If nothing changes, the three Republicans — David Marks of Upper Falls; Wade Kach of North County; and Todd Crandell of Dundalk — can vote in a bloc to stop the maps from becoming law.

The council has until October to vote on whether to approve the maps. Council members can also revert to the original maps that were worked out as part of a compromise between Democrats and Republicans to expand the council to nine members, or come up with a compromise between that map and the one that the redistricting commission recommended.

The challenge before the commission was immense and ever-changing: Baltimore County surrounds the city of Baltimore like a horseshoe, with boundaries natural (rivers and streams) and unnatural (York Road, Route 43) dividing and uniting neighborhoods.

Some places feel culturally together, like the waterfront communities along Essex and Middle River that grapple with flooding, low lands and occasionally failing septic issues. Other communities feel architecturally unified, like the Loch Raven rowhouse corridor that connects with Parkville and Towson. Yet, when districts are going to shrink from 122,000 people each to 95,000, some precincts may lose a beloved representative or a cherished identity.

The last time the county redrew political lines, the ACLU and the NAACP sued. The county spent more than $1 million in legal fees before coming up with a map that the court accepted. No one wanted to endure that again, so the commission was mindful of various precedent-setting cases dealing with race, and voting and balancing districts, so no one would be disenfranchised.

Since the council was established in 1956, only five women, all of them white, have ever been elected to it. Several women, including two Black candidates, have filed to run in 2026, although they don’t know which districts they will be in.

All the existing districts except one, on the west side, have always elected white representatives. The west side district was carved out to include Black precincts 20 years ago, only because federal courts required it.

“We all had to give a little to get a little,” said Michelle Davis, a member of the commission that came up with what has become known as the 2-2 map plan, which was approved Monday night.

Many residents from Essex, Middle River and the new residential community of Greenleigh told the commission in recent months that the county’s east side had grown increasingly diverse and deserved an opportunity to elect a councilperson who represented their interests and understood their struggles.

Commission Chair Eric Rockel acknowledged that the minority populations of Hispanic and Asian residents on the east side of the county were “not significantly on the radar” before several public meetings. He was also not familiar with Greenleigh and its specific needs.

Also unhappy with the final vote were three commissioners who voted against the plan and preferred an alternative map that kept Black communities more together in Woodlawn.

Commissioner Cordell Grant said the maps that were approved “dilute the Black vote.” They note their dissent in the report they delivered.

Of the four commissioners who voted for the plan that is outlined in the map, two — Michelle Davis and Al Harris — are Black. A third, Lisa Belcastro, is a white, gay Democrat. Rockel, the chairperson, is a white Republican.

Linda Dorsey Walker, who has been trying to increase diversity on the council for decades, would say they failed. Dorsey has been attending redistricting meetings with signs asking for Woodlawn to be kept together.

“They ripped Woodlawn apart,” she said.

The 2-2 plan, which surfaced in later commission meetings, caps what at times was a contentious process. Belcastro and Davis both reported being “accosted” at public meetings, Belcastro from the audience and Davis in the hallway after she left.

Both incidents were captured on a video, although Davis’s incident could only be heard, not seen. The county hired extra security for Monday’s meeting at the commission’s request, but things remained calm.

Despite the troubles, Belcastro and Davis praised the commission members, who they said took the difficult task seriously and worked collaboratively. Rockel agreed.

“I am very proud of the work we performed to revise the council districts,” he said. “We took into consideration all of the public input and testimony we received while also staying true to our charter-mandated and legal requirements. I believe the recommendation we are sending to the County Council reflects that.”

To view an interactive version of the proposed new council district maps, visit here.