The political landscape is literally changing with four proposed options to redraw council district boundaries — half of which divide District 1 into segments that separate Shoreline and Lake Forest Park.
Metro King County Council member Carolyn Edmonds, who represents District 1, says the maps lead her to disappointment.
“They won’t have a very strong voice on the county council if they separate,” Edmonds said. “There has always been a strong feeling of community for Shoreline and Lake Forest Park.”
The four drafts, drawn by the citizen Districting Committee, is in response to County Charter Amendment A. The amendment was passed by voters at the Nov. 2 election and will reduce the number of Council districts from 13 to nine.
Edmonds said only one of the four proposed maps included the majority of the north suburban cities she represents, with the exception of Woodinville.
District 1 currently includes Shoreline, Lake Forest Park, Kenmore, Bothell and Woodinville. She worries that some of the cities may become part of other Seattle districts.
The cities Edmonds represents have more in common with other north suburban cities than with Seattle, she said, since they work together on a variety of projects. Some projects include Metro Bus service, Sound Transit, the Brightwater conveyance system, 522 corridor redevelopment and economic development projects.
“Seattle has overshadowed Shoreline for so long and we had been establishing a north suburban city identity,” Edmonds said. “Three of the four maps didn’t count that.”
Although Edmonds previously said the deadline for redistricting, which is 2005, was likely too soon to complete the process, she now says a lawsuit may not be necessary to challenge the deadline. She said the last time redistricting took place, in 2001, the process took 10 months to complete.
Edmonds said the committee is committed to having the final maps completed by Jan. 15, and a meeting scheduled Jan. 8 is intended for the committee to reach a compromise, which is theoretically based on testimony members receive at public hearings set Jan. 5 and Jan. 6.
According to a press release, state law requires the committee to draw the boundaries of each district as close to equal population as possible, to ensure equal representation, to correspond as nearly as practical with the boundaries of existing municipalities, election precincts, census tracts, recognized natural boundaries and communities of related and mutual interest.
District 1 will likely grow from about 133,000 residents to 190,000, Edmonds previously estimated. District 1 has a unique situation, she said, because of its corner location. The district can only expand to the south or east, possibly gaining territory in Kirkland.
Edmonds supported putting the initiative on the ballot because she said it is important for residents to have the opportunity to express themselves.
She had hoped it would not appear on the ballot until 2007, but since voters have spoken, she said she will ensure it is done with the best public process possible.
The initiative was originally proposed because unionized jail workers lost jobs due to county budget cuts, and the Council voted to put the decision to reduce the members from 13 to nine before the voters.
Voters created the present 13-member County Council structure in 1992, when the health and public safety services of King County merged with waste water treatment and regional transit obligations of Metro.
The maps are available online at www. metrokc.gov/council/districting.
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