Advocates for increased political representation of communities of color were present at the Washington Redistricting Commission’s special meeting in Olympia on Sept. 13 to witness the release of the commissioners’ proposed congressional and legislative district maps.
Three of four voting commissioners — Tim Ceis, Slade Gordon, and Tom Huff — proposed the creation of Washington’s first majority-minority congressional district. The four commissioners’ maps propose majority-minority legislative districts in Central Washington and South King County.
“We are cautiously optimistic,” said Cherry Cayabyab, United for Fair Representation coalition member, “that this is a good starting point for the commission to work with our community. We will continue to shepherd our proposal through this process as it moves forward to completion on Jan. 1.”
The redistricting commission heard testimony from communities of color throughout the state about the need for the new district lines to reflect the growth of communities of color over the last decade. (end)
For more information, visit www.fairrepresentationwa.org.
