In follow-up to two previous articles in 2021 and 2023 about the state requirement for boroughs to maintain a ward system that is “nearly equal in population as practicable as officially and finally reported in the latest official census,” MoreThanTheCurve.com can report that Conshohocken’s borough council will likely address the issue in the second half of 2024.

Currently, the second ward has drastically less population than the other wards, especially Ward 1. This was true prior to the construction of the most recent wave of apartments (and going back to at least 25 years according to available election data).

MoreThanTheCurve.com sent an email to the members of borough council on June 28th asking if there was a plan to address the issue. Borough Council President Tina Sokolowski (D, Ward 3) responded with the following:

I appreciate your interest and desire to focus on the comparative population numbers between the Wards in Conshohocken.  As you are aware Conshohocken has been in a cycle of constant evolution and change over the past 10 years.  Policy and practices that worked in the past always need evaluation and amendments/change to be able to serve our residents, business owners and guests under current reality.

These changes need to be evidence based, well thought out and aligned with the strategic planning of the borough.  There has been rapid change and growth in the population of the Borough, with completion of major Land Development projects.   The population of the Borough has changed so dramatically in the recent years that the population data from the recent census is already out-of-date.

I have spoken with individual members of Borough Council about this specific issue, and there is a consensus to review this matter over the course of the remainder of this year to evaluate, plan and propose ward changes as appropriate to better represent the current distribution of population in our One Square Mile community.  I am confident that through an evidence-based, well thought out, approach this Borough Council can achieve a better population balance between Wards.  We will, of course, need to comply with Borough Code requirements in implementing any changes.  We will also need to grapple with the fact that, as noted above, the most recent census numbers are already out-of-date.

Obviously, future discussion of this matter will be stated on an agenda of Borough Council, and we look forward to working through this issue with our constituents.

Let us know how you think the borough should be divided for the purposes of elections and representation in the comments. There are several possibilities. All the seats on council could be elected at-large (which solves the issue forever), they could keep seven wards and change the boundaries, they could keep some wards and also have at-large seats, they could also create less wards and have multiple representatives for each ward, etc.