Politics & Government

Frank to Pick Up More Norfolk County Towns in New Maps

Newton Rep. Barney Frank will lose some of Southern Bristol County, but will pick up more towns in Norfolk and Worcester Counties.

Although Newton residents will see no change for their congressional district, some of the Garden City's neighbors as well as towns from Worcester and East Bristol Counties will soon be in the Fourth Congressional District, currently represented by Barney Frank (D-Newton).

A week after Gov. Deval Patrick signed off on , the Special Joint Committee on Redistricting released maps today re-drawing the state's congressional districts, which have shrunk from ten to nine districts due to population shifts. 

To view the new map (and the old map) click the .pdf to the right.

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

In the new maps, Frank's district will cover Needham, Medfield and Walpole, which are currently in the state's Ninth District represented by Democrat Stephen Lynch. The district will also take other Norfolk County towns including Plainville, Wrentham, Franklin, Medway (currently in the Third District) and part of Bellingham (currently in the Second District).

Milford and Hopedale (Worcester County) as well as Hopkinton (Middlesex County) will also shift into the Fourth District. Those towns are currently represented by Jim McGovern (D-3rd). 

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

Meanwhile, the Fourth District will lose a large part of Southern Bristol County and East Plymouth County, including New Bedford, Dartmouth, Westport, Acushnet, Wareham, Middleborough, Marion, Rochester, Mattapoisett, Halifax and part of Fall River, which will all now be a part of a newly-drawn Ninth District. 

As the Boston Globe reported today, the new Ninth District has created a bit of a snag with two current representatives -- South Boston-based U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch and U.S. Rep. William Keating, of Quincy -- as the two Democrats could face off against each other for control of a district. 


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