New England has a long and wonderful traditional of small town governance, right down to the traditional town meeting. Yet in some cases, it is more efficient to work on a regional level, and state legislative offices often cross town boundaries.

The announcement Friday of the Connecticut’s Probate Redistricting Commission plan caused me to stop and think a little bit about what districts Woodbridge is part of.

Woodbridge is part of the 114th Assembly District which also includes parts of Derby and Orange. Our State Senate District is the 17th which also includes Ansonia, Beacon Falls, Bethany, Derby, parts of Hamden, and parts of Naugatuck. On a larger scale, Woodbridge is part of Congressional District 3 which includes many towns.

While our elementary school district covers only Woodbridge, our high school is part of the Amity Regional School district, No. 5. It includes Bethany and Orange. For an even larger school region, Woodbridge is part of ACES which includes about two dozen other school districts.

For cable television, especially as it relates to the public, educational and government access channels, Woodbridge is part of the Cable Advisory Council Area 2, which includes Bridgeport, Fairfield, Milford, Orange, and Stratford.

Now, there is the proposal for the new Probate districts. Woodbridge would be in a district with Ansonia, Derby, and Seymour.

My guess is that there are other regional districts that Woodbridge is part of that I am not aware of. I am not sure how various decisions where made, or will be made about what districts Woodbridge is part of, but it does seem a bit scattershot. What do you think? Are there better ways to do districting?