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As we contemplate picking up a new 10th U.S. House district in time for the 2012 election – and an additional electoral vote – Patrick McDonald, assistant to Secretary of State Sam Reed, has pulled together a concise 14-page history of our congressional delegation.
During territorial days, we had a “delegate,” such as Isaac Ingalls Stevens, Arthur Denny, and guys with cool names like Selucius, Obadiah and Orange. At statehood in 1889, we had a single statewide House member (John Wilson of Spokane) and gained a second seat after the 1890 census. The 3rd was awarded after the 1900 census, the 4th and 5th after the 1910 enumeration, the 6th after the 1930 census, 7th after the 1950 count, the 8th after 1980 and the 9th after the 1990 census.
If we indeed are awarded a 10th district, it's widely expected to go into rapidly growing Puget Sound region, drawing population from the over-sized 8th District and adjacent districts. Actual computer-assisted map-drawing will be the task of a five-member citizen Redistricting Commission created by voters back in 1983.
Four voting members -- 2 Ds and 2 Rs -- will be named by the four party caucuses in Olympia in January. They cannot be elected officials or lobbyists. The four will choose a non-voting fifth member as chair. Legislative and congressional boundaries must be negotiated by the end of the year, with at least three votes in favor of the maps. The Legislature may make only tiny changes, by two-thirds vote of both houses. Fun stuff, and you'll be able to keep up online or in person, if you're so inclined.
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Secretary of State
Steve Hobbs
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