OAK RIDGE, TENN. — The Oak Ridge City Council unanimously passed a resolution at a special Monday night meeting opposing congressional redistricting proposals that would remove Anderson County from the Third Congressional District. The resolution opposes any redistricting by the Tennessee General Assembly that does not retain Anderson County and Roane County within the Third Congressional District.

Draft redistricting maps appear to show Anderson and Roane counties placed into the Second Congressional District. Council members expressed concern that the redistricting could harm the local economy and possibly affect Department of Energy projects in the region.

"At least one draft of one plan had Roane and Anderson Counties dropped from the Third Congressional District," Mayor Warren Gooch said. Gooch also addressed the economic and energy significance of the region.

"The Nuclear Renaissance is obviously here. The Manhattan Project 2.0 is underway. Oak Ridge is at the epicenter of that and will continue to be the epicenter of it, and the country needs to understand it, and in most places they do, and I hope that the governor and legislative leaders also respect and honor that and keep moving the state forward because if Oak Ridge moves forward, so does the state," Gooch said.

State Representative Rick Scarbrough asked voters about the congressional redistricting issue on social media. "Congressman Fleishmann does an excellent job taking care of our region. He knows the Department of Energy mission. He knows Anderson County," Scarbrough said.

Tennessee lawmakers are preparing to return to Nashville for a special session that could reshape the state's congressional map, including possibly dismantling the state's only Democratic-held seat centered in Memphis. The U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision that changes how race can be considered in redistricting.