United for Fair Representation

Rep. Adam Smith’s redrawn 9th Congressional District will be over 50% minority voters

http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2012/01/03/advocates-look-to-line-up-latino-voters-in-new-15th-district

http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/politics/article_0b41bf62-3632-11e1-be04-0019bb2963f4.html

Posted: Wednesday, January 4, 2012 9:00 am

By Ryan Lancaster

MOSES LAKE – The Washington State Redistricting Commissioners reached an eleventh hour agreement on new congressional and legislative boundaries.

The commission, made up of two Republicans and two Democrats, is tasked every decade with redrawing the boundaries to redistribute shifting populations evenly into each district.

Republican Commissioner Tom Huff negotiated Eastern Washington’s legislative district lines with Democrat Dean Foster.

Their final plan stretches the 13th District into a broad belt across Washington’s middle with the transfer of Lincoln County from the 7th District.

A larger portion of Okanogan County and the northwest corner of Grant County are drawn into the 12th District along with the whole of Soap Lake, although the cities of Quincy and Ephrata are kept intact within the 13th District.

The northern portion of Grant County remains in the 12th District, including the Grand Coulee Dam region.

The 13th District drops the top half of Yakima County, which is drawn into a re-crafted 15th District including much of the Yakima Valley.

With a more than 54 percent Latino population, the 15th would be Washington’s first majority Latino district, bringing the total number of minority-majority legislative districts to four.

Thirteenth District Rep. Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake, said she was surprised to see the whole of Lincoln County brought under her representation.

“I don’t know if the geographical district is the largest now but it’s got to be close because we go from King (County) to Spokane (County) – all the way across the state in a long, thin district,” she said; adding she looks forward to meeting new constituents. “It won’t be that different to represent Lincoln County because I have connections there but we’re going to be putting a lot of miles on our cars.”

She noted the number of common interests between the counties contained within the new 13th District, including issues concerning transportation, agriculture and water.

“The small towns we represent in Grant and Kittitas counties are no different than the small towns in Lincoln County,” she said.

On the congressional side, a plan drawn up by Republican Commissioner Slade Gorton and Democrat Tim Ceis transfers Okanogan County and parts of Adams and Walla Walla counties into the 4th District from the 5th District.

Chelan and Kittitas counties, including Wenatchee, Ellensburg and the Columbia River Gorge, would meanwhile be shifted from the 4th District into the 8th District.

Ceis and Foster issued a joint statement Monday noting that for all its challenges, the redistricting process proved itself for the third time since it was adopted by the state in 1983.

“This is a bipartisan process and it is always a challenge dealing with competing objectives,” they stated. “But we have reached a fair and equitable resolution that will serve the citizens of Washington well.”

Among what they billed as several “historic” changes in the adopted plan were the addition of a 10th Congressional district, the majority-minority 15th legislative district and a majority-minority 9th congressional district.

“The adopted legislative and congressional plans strive to equalize population, minimize unnecessary city and county splits and keep communities of interest intact,” they stated. “The amount of public comment we heard throughout the process was instrumental in helping us make this determination and we thank the public for their participation.”

The commission gathered input on the process by soliciting online comments, speaking with county auditors and holding 18 public hearings across the state, including a forum at Big Bend Community College in July.

The goal was to redraw boundaries to encompass 672,454 in each congressional district and 137,235 people in each legislative district.

In Grant County, District 4 needed to shed nearly 102,000 people while District 14 had to lose 6,514 people.

A final report to the state Legislature will be published Jan. 9 and will include more detailed district maps, according to Genevieve O’Sullivan, the commission’s communications director.

The Legislature has 30 days beginning the first day of the 2012 regular session to review and make any changes to the final plan. Only 2 percent population changes per district are allowed, and those changes require a two-thirds vote of both houses to pass.

After the 30 day review period has passed, with or without legislative action, the final plan becomes law, O’Sullivan said.

More details of the commission’s plan can be found at www.redistricting.wa.gov.

http://www.seattlemedium.com/News/article/article.asp?NewsID=112026&sID=4&ItemSource=L

by Seattle Medium
The Seattle Medium
Originally posted 1/4/2012

Minority Communities in Washington state made great strides this decennial round of state redistricting. Washington has gained its first majority-minority congressional district and Latino majority legislative district. The new 9th congressional district is just over one-half minority at 50.3% and encompasses Southeast Seattle, Bellevue, North Tacoma and South King County. The final redistricting plan adopted on Jan. 1 also establishes four majority-minority legislative districts – the 15th in Yakima county and 11th, 33rd and 37th in South King County.

Washington’s gain of a new 10th congressional district can be attributed to the growth of minorities, now one-fourth of the statewide population. The Washington Redistricting Commission heard unprecedented testimony from communities of color throughout the state about the need for the new district lines to reflect the growth of communities of color over the last decade. United for Fair Representation, a coalition established to educate and encourage communities of color to be involved in the redistricting process, turned out 600 Unity Map supporters to almost all 18 redistricting forums around the state.

“Thanks to the commission for taking into account the changing demographics of the state, and for offering people of color in WA the opportunity for meaningful participation in the democratic process,” said Celestino Gallegos, board member at Latino Community Fund.

The 15th legislative district will serve an unprecedented 54.6% Latino majority population. Just how much of a Latino majority the 15th should get was a point of contention among redistricting commissioners. In the end, a bi-partisan compromise put the City of Yakima’s Latino populated southeast and north central neighborhoods in the 14th legislative district.

“While we are disappointed that backroom politics resulted in separating Latinos in southeast Yakima city from those in the lower Yakima valley, we will continue to fight for fair representation for all Latinos in Yakima and will maximize political opportunities in our new Latino majority legislative district,” said Lorena Gonzalez, president of OneAmerica Votes.

The coalition also requested that the 29th legislative district reflect Tacoma’s growing communities of color. With a 48% minority population, the 29th should become a majority-minority legislative district in the next decade. Commissioners did not create a Latino majority 9th legislative district in Tri-Cities as requested by advocates. They did, however, include Yakima and Tri-Cities together in the 4th Congressional District, which now holds a fast-growing minority population at 42.8%.

“The work of our coalition, United for Fair Representation, is far from over. Engaging in the redistricting process is critical but not sufficient to ensure that everyone has fair representation. In the upcoming legislative session, we will be advocating for the passage of the WA State Voting Rights Act. This historic piece of legislation will be an important legal tool for ensuring fair representation for all”, said George Cheung, executive director at the Win Win Network.

“Let the record show that in 2011 we stood up – Black, Brown, Asian Pacific Islander, Native Americans, more – and said in one unified voice that we will be represented, our voices will be heard, we will never again be taken for granted and we will fully participate in the electoral process”, said Nate Miles, Fair Representation coalition member. “Now is the best opportunity for people of color to register and turn out to vote. Electoral races in these majority-minority districts are especially where our votes will have an impact.”

http://www.theolympian.com/2012/01/03/1934463/minority-coalition-counts-wins.html

Minority coalition counts wins in redistricting plan

Brad Shannon | The Olympian • Published January 03, 2012 Modified January 03, 2012 Brad Shannon The Olympian

Sunday’s unanimous votes by the Washington State Redistricting Commission created the state’s first congressional district where people of color make up the majority of residents. Similarly, the commission approved majority-minority legislative districts in the 11th, 33rd and 37th districts in King County and the state’s first Latino majority district in the 15th, in east Yakima County.

Cherry Cayabyab, speaking for the United for Fair Representation coalition, said members were pleased the commissioners “listened” to testimony her group helped organize around the state.

The commission vote moves the Evergreen State in the right direction to give minorities more concentrated clout in a few districts, but Cayabyab had hoped to see more. She said the 29th district that takes in south Tacoma and east Lakewood fell just short of a minority majority. The coalition put out a statement here.

The redistricting maps are here.

“The final maps respond to the reality that people of color now represent 1 out of 4 Washington residents and that the increase in these communities helped land Washington an additional congressional district,” the OneAmerica advocacy group that was part of the coalition added in a news release.

Democratic redistricting commissioner Tim Ceis said it now is up to candidates and parties to get out, organize campaigns and see who can win with the new boundaries.

It remains to be seen how votes play out in the 2012 election, but there is no question history is in the making. And it is possible the impacts will take a few years to emerge.

This story includes comments from a Grandview City Council member’s view that the Latino majority in the newly designed 15th Legislative District in east Yakima County might not change the GOP dominated political landscape until Hispanic people get more involved in voting.

And this story outlined some of the impacts of a majority-minority population in the 9th Congressional District, where Democratic U.S. Rep. Adam Smith of Tacoma is in his eighth term. The new boundaries pull the 9th out of Lacey, Thurston County and Joint Base Lewis McChord areas, pushing it into southeast Seattle and as far northeast as Bellevue.

Stay tuned.

http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/dailyweekly/2012/01/washington_gets_first_majority_latino_voting_district.php

http://publicola.com/2012/01/02/majority-latino-district-wont-have-majority-latino-vote/

January 2, 2012 at 12:49 pm Erica C. Barnett

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2012/01/01/1966293/state-political-map-approved.html

Washington’s Redistricting Commission unanimously approved a new political map Sunday evening, creating the state’s first minority-dominated congressional district and retaining Democrats’ edge over Republicans in the statehouse.

Brad Shannon; Staff writer Brad Shannon The News Tribune Published: 01/02/12 3:17 am

Washington’s Redistricting Commission unanimously approved a new political map Sunday evening, creating the state’s first minority-dominated congressional district and retaining Democrats’ edge over Republicans in the statehouse.

The commission’s plan, approved a few hours before the midnight deadline, also put Shelton, Olympia, Lakewood and University Place in the state’s new 10th Congressional District. The commission’s plan is subject only to minor changes by the Legislature, if it can muster a two-thirds vote, and takes effect in March.

Redistricting is done every decade after the U.S. Census is conducted, equalizing population – and therefore voters’ relative clout – in state and national voting districts. Population growth of about 1 million since 2001 was enough to give Washington, now the 13th-most populous state, an additional U.S. House seat.

In a historic move, the Redistricting Commission agreed to push U.S. Rep. Adam Smith’s 9th District further north into southeast Seattle and Bellevue, making it the state’s first congressional district where a majority of residents are people of color. That made room for the 10th to slide into Thurston County, which had been split into two districts.

“I think there’ll be a contest in the 10th because it is an open seat. But the Democrats will be favored,” Republican commissioner Slade Gorton predicted. But the newly configured 1st Congressional District, which also has no incumbent, is considered the biggest toss-up.

Gorton said the commission’s legislative remapping means that as many as 15 or 16 legislative districts also will be competitive, although a lot of what happens depends on the candidates and the electoral mood come November, the first election affected by the new districts.

If the new legislative boundaries had been in effect in 2010, Democratic commissioner Dean Foster said, most if not all of today’s House Democrats would have won re-election – and one defeated former lawmaker, Dawn Morrell of Puyallup, would have won. But Republican Tom Huff disputed that assessment, saying that the GOP’s analysis shows Democratic Rep. Kathy Haigh of Shelton and Morrell would have lost with the new boundaries.

Approval of the redistricting maps ends a long redistricting process that began in May with a series of 18 public hearings around the state. Unlike other states where partisan legislatures do battle to improve the lot of the majority party, Washington turned the job over to a commission in 1983 – and the rules require three of the four partisan commissioners to agree on a final product.

After reaching an apparent deal on congressional districts last Tuesday, the commission hit an impasse on legislative districts – until Gorton and Foster broke through late Saturday night on remapping Eastern Washington.

Highlights of their deal: The 15th Legislative District in east Yakima County becomes the state’s first majority Latino district, reflecting the changing demographics of Central Washington. It also keeps the 6th District, which wraps around Spokane’s liberal core, as a competitive or swing district, Democratic commissioner Tim Ceis said.

The new plan has many features. On the congressional front:

U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Belfair, retains his hold on urban Tacoma in the 6th District that includes the rural Olympic Peninsula, and he gains the Bangor naval base.

U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Buetler, R-Camas, sees her 3rd District become more Republican as it slides out of Democrat-dominated Olympia and into GOP-friendly Eastern Washington along the Columbia River.

U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert, R-Auburn, sees his 8th District lose Bellevue and grow more staunchly Republican as it crosses the Cascades to include Kittitas and Chelan counties.

U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee is leaving the 1st District to run for governor, and his district is reconfigured as a swing district – slightly favoring Democrats – ranging from east of Everett and running over suburban and rural areas to the Canadian border.

The 2nd District becomes an urban and coastal district from Everett to the San Juans.

The new 10th District includes most of Thurston County north of state Route 507, but it leaves the town of Bucoda in the 3rd. Three candidates have already announced that they’ll run in November: Republicans Dick Muri of Lakewood and Stan Flemming of University Place and Democrat Denny Heck of Olympia. In the legislative plan:

Republican Rep. Ed Orcutt of Kalama is moved from the 18th District into the 20th, setting off a chain reaction that dislodges other incumbents. Thurston County Rep. Gary Alexander lives on the outskirts of Lacey and is pushed out of the 20th and into the 2nd, where incumbent Republican Rep. Jim McCune of Graham is pushed out and into the 28th, which has two Democratic House members.

In another chain reaction, Democratic Sen. Margarita Prentice of Renton is moved from the 11th District into the 37th, where Sen. Adam Kline, D-Seattle, is the incumbent.

The cities of Milton and Pacific are placed in the 30th Legislative and 8th Congressional districts. Earlier plans were in conflict over how those communities along the Pierce-King border would be split.

The 35th District snakes further into Thurston County, south of Olympia and Tumwater and north of the south county cities of Tenino and Rainier. Republican commissioner Tom Huff of Gig Harbor said he thinks the 35th, which is served by three Democrats, is among the legislative districts that will become more competitive.

Changes to the 15th District could be controversial. The new 15th fills east Yakima County, including urbanized east Yakima and moving east toward the Benton County line. It includes the towns of Sunnyside and Grandview.

State Rep. Bruce Chandler, a Republican orchardist from Granger, said he thinks 15th District voters will resent that race and ethnicity were factors in drawing his district’s lines.

“The changes are more dramatic this time than they have been,” Chandler said. “What most people want is for redistricting to be done openly. They want it done by the law. And they want every constituent treated the same. In the proposed plan, almost 50,000 people are displaced from their current district in the 14th and 15th.’’

But it is far from clear whether the Republican incumbents will see their chances of re-election change.

Grandview City Council member Jesse Palacios, who is also a former mayor and former Republican commissioner in Yakima County, said a Latino-majority district is “a good thing,” but he is unsure whether more Latinos will get involved as candidates or voters in an area that is solidly Republican.

Asked about Chandler’s remarks, Palacios said: “I don’t think people are going to resent it for very long.”

An advocacy group calling itself United for Fair Representation turned out hundreds of people to testify around the state in support of majority-minority districts.

“There’s no question this is going to create greater participation, because the expectation is higher now,’’ said Nate Miles, a member of the Win Win Network from Seattle who testified along with the Fair Representation coalition leaders. Brad

Shannon: 360-753-1688 bshannon@theolympian.com

http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Redistricting-panel-OKs-new-political-maps-2436458.php

CHRIS GRYGIEL, Associated Press

Updated 08:55 a.m., Monday, January 2, 2012

SEATTLE (AP) — With less than two hours to spare, members of the Washington State Redistricting Commission signed off on plans Sunday night that will reshape legislative and congressional maps for the next decade.

The panel, which faced an 11:59 p.m. New Year’s Day deadline, transmitted the new boundaries to the Legislature shortly after 10 p.m. Lawmakers will still have an opportunity to make minor modifications. Commission members met in Olympia throughout the weekend to debate and deliberate how the state’s new political boundaries will look.

The commission had announced a broad agreement Wednesday on the most-watched aspect of their work — borders for congressional districts. Because of population gains, Washington was awarded a new, 10th congressional district following the latest federal census.

But the commission was vexed by details of certain state legislative districts, particularly in Yakima and Spokane. On Sunday, the panel reached a deal to create the first majority Latino district in Washington, making the 15th legislative district in Yakima more than 54.5 percent Latino population.

If the panel made up of two Republicans and two Democrats had failed to reach an agreement, the state Supreme Court would’ve taken control of the process. The final votes Sunday night were unanimous.

Many states leave redistricting to the state Legislature, but in 1983 Washington voters created the current system with a bipartisan panel, hoping to avoid partisan squabbles and politicking that can occur in statehouses. However Washington’s way of creating new districts is not without its own critics, including at least one of the panel members.

Commissioner Tom Huff, a Republican, said he was frustrated by the redistricting process, saying it was too long and that it was disappointing the panel stretched its work until just before the deadline.

“I think it needs a little tweaking, I think it needs a little fixing,” Huff said.

Democratic member Tim Ceis said he was “very proud” of the final map.

“This is a very interesting process,” Ceis said. “Perhaps the timeline could be shortened. You always end up working right up to the deadline….I think it’s a good thing we only do this every 10 years.”

The congressional plan has significant changes for western Washington.

The new, 10th District is centered in the Democratic stronghold of Olympia. The 9th District, currently represented by Rep. Adam Smith, will become the state’s first majority-minority district because it is slightly less than 50 percent white. It covers areas south and east of Seattle, including Federal Way, Renton and Bellevue.

The 1st District, now held by Democratic Rep. Jay Inslee, who is running for governor, will stretch east of the Interstate 5 corridor, from Medina to rural King County. Republican Rep. Dave Reichert‘s District will shift further east and include communities thought to be bolster Republicans’ chances of holding on to that seat.