Here’s how proposed new legislative districts could affect Bellingham, Whatcom voters
CORRECTION: The number of the district that might see more Bellingham voters under the Democratic redistricting plan was corrected Sept. 22, 2021.
Proposed state legislative redistricting maps could have key partisan implications for Whatcom County voters, especially those in the 42nd District covering north Bellingham and northern and eastern Whatcom County.
Four members of the bipartisan state Redistricting Commission released their draft maps for the state’s 49 legislative districts on Tuesday, Sept. 21, and negotiations will continue on final district maps until a Nov. 15 deadline.
Proposed congressional district maps will be released Tuesday, Sept. 28.
▪ Maps drawn by the two commission members appointed by Democrats move traditionally Republican areas of eastern Whatcom County out of the 42nd District and into the 40th — an apparent attempt to make that district solidly Democratic. One of the Democratic appointees, labor leader April Sims, submitted a map that moves the western part of the 40th District into the 42nd, leaving the home of 40th District state Rep. Alex Ramel, D-Bellingham, in the 42nd District.
▪ Maps submitted by the two commission members appointed by Republicans take parts of Bellingham from the 42nd District and add them to the solidly Democratic 40th District — a move that would make the 42nd District solidly Republican.
And those GOP-submitted 42nd District maps exclude the Lettered Streets home of Democratic state Rep. Sharon Shewmake.
“Both Republicans took me out of the 42nd because they know they can’t beat me here,” Shewmake told The Bellingham Herald.
Shewmake won her 42nd District seat by 2 percent in 2018 and won by 4 percent in 2020.
Blaine Democrat Alicia Rule, the 42nd’s other state representative, won her seat by 2 percent in 2020.
State Sen. Doug Ericksen, R-Ferndale — Whatcom County’s only Republican in Olympia, won re-election by 46 votes in 2018.
“The Democrats proposed that same thing 10 years ago and probably 20 years ago,” Ericksen told The Herald.
Congressional and state legislative districts around the nation are redrawn every 10 years, based on new census figures, according to the U.S. Constitution.
Some states use partisan methods to draw districts that favor the party in power, a process called gerrymandering.
In Washington state, the redistricting panel is composed of two people from the two major parties, Republicans and Democrats, and a non-voting chairperson.
All four members submit their maps for public consideration and comment, and then they discuss changes.
“They’ll have to get to an agreement,” Ericksen said. “The key issues are maintaining communities of interest and avoiding gerrymandering. It’s important for people to have reasonable access to their legislators. We’ll see what happens.”
And because the panel is evenly split by party, they will have to reach consensus.
Partisan politics was apparent with each member’s proposed district maps statewide, according to a Seattle Times article published Wednesday, Sept. 22.
Democrats have a 57-41 majority in the House of Representatives and a 28-21 majority in the Senate.
▪ The Republican maps, released by former state legislators Joe Fain and Paul Graves, seek to create many more competitive districts — a stance that makes political sense for the party in the minority in the state House and Senate, The Seattle Times reported.
▪ The Democrats’ maps, from April Sims and former legislator Brady Piñero Walkinshaw, didn’t emphasize partisan competitiveness as a priority, saying their goals are fair representation and elevating communities of color, the Times said.
Shewmake said she hopes that final maps can unite Bellingham neighborhoods where some residents are in her 42th District and others are in Ramel’s 40th District.
“That’s the same community, people across the street from each other,” Shewmake said. “None of the maps unite Bellingham. Bellingham is still going to be split up, and that’s OK. But we should try to keep neighborhoods together.”
Ramel told The Herald that talks are just starting and he’s not worried about losing his seat.
“It’s really about who’s in each district and how well they will be represented based on where the lines are drawn,” Ramel said.
“It’s better to have the lines drawn and keep communities of interest together and have good representation,” he said.
This story was originally published September 22, 2021 at 12:37 PM.
