Redistricting maps unveiled

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Redistricting Commission member Tom Huff (left) answers a reporter's question during a news conference about the panel's proposed maps.

After holding 18 public forums around the state and receiving public feedback, members of the Washington State Redistricting Commission unveiled maps of their proposed congressional and legislative districts Tuesday morning in Olympia. The commission has just posted the different draft maps on its website. You can view them here . Much attention was focused on where commission members would place the new 10th Congressional District. Judging by the competing maps, there is no consensus on the new district’s location:
  • The House Democrats’ plan would place the 10th all along the Washington coast and then east into Olympia and Puyallup, but skipping Tacoma and Lakewood.
  • The Senate Democrats’ recommendation for the 10th would be to include Olympia and the rest of northern Thurston County and have it spread northeast into Lakewood, southern Tacoma, Fife and Puyallup before stopping at Algona.
  • The House Republicans’ proposal would locate it in south Seattle and down into Federal Way and Algona, making it a “majority minority” district.
  • The Senate Republicans’ offering would make the 10th a huge district geographically, stretching it from San Juan, Island Whatcom, Skagit and most of Snohomish counties east across the Cascades to include Okanogan, Chelan and Douglas counties.
According to the Redistricting Commission, public input to the drafts will wrap up with a meeting in Olympia on October 11. The meeting will be webcast and broadcast on TV so those unable to be in Olympia can participate from anywhere in the state. People can comment during the meeting by phoning in or joining the interactive webcast. Although the Redistricting Commission has until next Jan. 1 to submit a final plan for the Legislature’s approval, commission members said their goal is to agree on that plan by Nov. 1, providing time to correct minor errors before turning in the agreed-upon proposal.
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