screenshot from adopted districting map

screenshot from adopted districting map

King County adopts amended districting plan

Residents can view adopted districting map on the county’s website.

On Wednesday, Dec. 8, the King County Districting Committee unanimously adopted the Amended Final Draft Districting Master Plan. The adopted redistricting plan will be filed with the Clerk of the Council and will become the new King County Council district boundaries, effective upon filing.

A map of the new King County Council district boundaries is available online.

“Despite the delay in the census data, we were able to make good use of the early months by reaching out to communities throughout King County, who otherwise may not have engaged with the process,” said Committee Member Sophia Danenberg. “Through negotiation and compromise, I am pleased that we were able to consider the breadth of input we received to create a map that balances the needs and wishes of disparate communities throughout King County.”

The work of the Districting Committee is guided by legal criteria. By law, Council district boundaries must be redrawn after each U.S. Census to make each district as nearly equal in population as possible using the most recent census data. The new district boundaries must be compact, contiguous, and composed of economic and geographic units. To the extent feasible, the districts must correspond with the boundaries of existing municipalities, election precincts, census tracts, recognized natural boundaries, and preserve communities of related and mutual interest. Population data may not be used for purposes of favoring or disfavoring any racial group or political party.

The County Charter places sole responsibility for redistricting with the independent, citizen Districting Committee. Members of the non-partisan King County Districting Committee include Chair Ann Schindler, Cherryl Jackson-Williams, Paul Graves, Sophia Danenberg, and Rob Saka. The Districting Master, King County GIS, served as the technical expert in developing the plan.

In addition to 29 regular and special Districting Committee meetings held throughout the year, the Committee conducted unprecedented community outreach to gather input and learn about communities of interest. This outreach included 21 community listening sessions prior to developing drafts, four town hall meetings to gather feedback on three draft maps, and a public hearing on the final draft map.

The Committee prioritized community input in its work which is reflected in several aspects of the adopted plan including the following:

– Uniform comments urged the Committee to reunite the Chinatown International District (CID) into one council district. The Committee identified the CID as a community of interest and worked with community members to identify neighborhood boundaries. The adopted plan reunites the CID.

– The Committee heard significant testimony from the residents of Skyway that they identify with South Seattle. Skyway remains wholly in King County Council District 2.

– Community members of Issaquah and Sammamish urged the Committee to keep those communities together. Issaquah and Sammamish remain wholly in the King County Council District 3.

– Consistent with the community listening sessions, Federal Way remains wholly in King County Council District 7.

– Elected officials urged the Committee to keep Black Diamond, Covington, Maple Valley and Enumclaw together. These cities are in King County Council District 9.

– The Committee strived to keep smaller cities whole, isolated from Seattle and Bellevue to the extent possible, and ensure that when cities needed to be split between districts that sufficient portions were in both districts as to avoid divisions with small city slivers.

In drawing the redistricting map, each district must be as nearly equal in population as possible. No district in the adopted plan deviates by more than 0.16% from the 2021 Council district target population of 252,186. Black, Indigenous and People of Color accounted for 100% of the population growth within King County over the past decade and comprise a majority of constituents in Council Districts 2 (50.30%), 5 (59.99%) and 7 (53.00%) under the newly adopted plan.

For more information, visit www.kingcounty.gov/districting.


Talk to us

Please share your story tips by emailing editor@kentreporter.com.

To share your opinion for publication, submit a letter through our website https://www.kentreporter.com/submit-letter/. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. (We’ll only publish your name and hometown.) Please keep letters to 300 words or less.

More in News

t
Soos Creek Water & Sewer District corrects billing errors

One customer received a bill for $9,000; district serves parts of Kent, Auburn, Renton and other cities

Washington State Capitol Building in Olympia. File photo
Schools, housing, salaries score big in Senate Dems $70B budget

The proposed spending plan also spends money to fight climate change, help abortion providers and study police pursuits

t
SeaTac girl pleads guilty to hit-and-run murder of Maple Valley man

Judge sentences the 17-year-old to remain in custody until she turns 21; maximum allowed by law

File photo.
Audit finds accountability issues in King County’s equity and social justices programs

Auditors say the county lacks progress tracking, clearly defined roles and accountability measures.

t
Northwest Kidney Centers opening Panther Lake location in Kent

Open house set for 2-4 p.m. Thursday, March 30

Courtesy Photo, Metro Creative Graphics
Kent man faces murder charge in 2022 Auburn case of man found shot

The two men apparently were friends; man found inside vehicle

State Capitol Building in Olympia, WA. File photo
New forecast show state revenues won’t be quite as robust as expected

Democratic budget writers say they will be cautious but able to fund their priorities. Senate put out a capital budget Monday.

Elements of the city’s interactive space-themed park being lowered in. (Screenshot from Kent Youtube page)
Aerospace industry among Kent’s top economic boosters

Mayor said the Kent Valley is home to about 250,000 jobs.

Most Read