Urban-rural divide is real
Published 12:01 am Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Judging by their opening observations, the members of the Washington State Redistricting Commission did their homework pretty thoroughly.
In their individual, preliminary plans, all four commissioners call for separating Snohomish County’s western, urban core from its eastern, mostly rural areas when it comes to congressional representation. The presumption, that the county’s eastern flank has more in common with rural regions to the east and/or north than it does with the greater Everett area, is valid. Snohomish County’s east-west divide mirrors that of the state.
The commissioners unveiled their initial proposals for redrawing the state’s congressional and legislative lines last week. Redistricting occurs every 10 years, after updated Census data reveals population shifts. Growth in the state also means that Washington will gain a 10th seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, forcing some big changes in district maps.
Three commissioners — Republican Slade Gorton and Democrats Tim Ceis and Dean Foster — would put most of Snohomish County east of Highway 9 into a congressional district that spans the Cascades and includes Wenatchee. The other — Republican Tom Huff — would draw one north-south line down Highway 9 and another down the Cascades, lumping east Snohomish County in with rural parts of King, Skagit and Whatcom counties.
Each of these plans would seem to create a relatively safe congressional seat for each party. Current Rep. Rick Larsen, a Democrat, would gain a slightly or, in at least one plan, dramatically more urban constituency. The district that includes east Snohomish County would be safely Republican.
Apply a magnifying glass to these plans, though, and cities near the proposed district lines may have grounds to quibble.
In two commissioners’ plans (one Democrat’s and one Republican’s), Marysville is painted into the more rural, eastern district. In the other two, it’s in the more urban district with Everett and Mukilteo. Similarly, Lake Stevens winds up in an urban district in two plans, rural in the others. Gorton and Ceis would put Lynnwood and Edmonds into Democrat Jim McDermott’s Seattle district.
One of the commission’s goals is to keep “communities of interest” together. Under that credo, growing Marysville and Lake Stevens would seem to have more issues of common interest with Everett and Mukilteo than, say, Leavenworth and Quincy. Lynnwood and Edmonds sharing a representative with much of Seattle? At least they’re part of the same the same urban corridor.
The commissioners say they hope to agree on a final proposal by early November. We think they’re on the right track regarding Snohomish County’s east-west divide, but should avoid casting growing cities like Marysville and Lake Stevens as rural.
