9th CIRCUIT BLESSES JUDICIAL GERRYMANDER

Washington state Republicans gathered outside of the federal courthouse in downtown Seattle on Tuesday to protest a recent court-ordered redistricting plan. U.S. District Court Judge Robert Lasnik adopted a new Washington legislative map back in March to create a majority-Latino voting district in central Washington. The new map impacts districts represented by Republicans, including Sen. Nikki Torres, R-Pasco, who spoke during the protest outside of the courthouse.

Democrat leaders in our state are no doubt looking ahead to the August primary and November general election more eagerly than usual. Having worked to get a Democrat-friendly federal judge to redraw more than a quarter of Washington’s 49 legislative districts, they likely see this as the year when the Republican lock on legislative positions in central Washington will finally end.

Republican state lawmakers on Tuesday renewed their grievances with a court-ordered redistricting that’s reshaped Washington’s political landscape in a way that threatens to be unfavorable for the Grand Old Party in this year’s elections. In a committee work session, three GOP senators registered disbelief that the redrawn 14th Legislative District at the center of the controversy has fewer Latinos of voting age than before and shifted from reliably Republican to highly favorable for Democrats based on past elections.

Heaven help us from people who say they want to help us. Using the advancement of the southeastern Washington Latino community as an excuse, Seattle activists and Democratic Party operatives have convinced a federal judge to redraw a full quarter of Washington’s legislative-district boundaries, from the southeastern corner of the state to Vancouver and Pierce County.

State Sen. Curtis King, R-Yakima, will run for reelection in District 14, he announced in a Thursday press release. King’s decision comes after weeks of redistricting-induced chaos as voting rights lawsuits moved through the courts. He plans to move his primary residence to the newly redrawn 14th District, the release said.

“I am so disappointed that Democratic special interests have gerrymandered new maps, which take me out of representing the majority minority Hispanic legislative district in the Yakima Valley. I was the first Latina Senator elected in Eastern Washington and have loved serving all my constituents. My district was 73% Hispanic, which made me especially proud to serve those newer to the district who came from the same background as I did.

The judge suggested that the state reconvene its redistricting commission to redraw the maps, but Democratic legislative leaders refused to do so. If they had, Republicans would have had a seat at the table and demanded compromises. Better to leave the decision in the hands of a judge appointed by Democratic President Bill Clinton. The result is a gerrymandered mess.

Every 10 years redistricting happens in Washington state to equalize population shifts in legislative districts. Many eastern Washington Hispanics were thrilled that there was a new Yakima Valley district where Hispanics formed 73% of the population – and a majority of the eligible voters. But Democrats said it did not do enough and they sued.

A Tri-Cities lawmaker drawn out of her home legislative district last month by a federal judge in Seattle says she’s “considering everything” as she looks forward to the final two years serving in her seat.

It is abjectly unfair that national Democrat special interest groups led by Matt Barreto from UCLA partnered with Washington state legislative leaders to foist this discriminatory map upon Washington state Hispanics. They were aided in their efforts by an abysmal defense by Attorney General Bob Ferguson whose partisan bias was properly called out in the briefs of the case.

Sen. Torres had these remarks about the judge’s decision, “I am personally very disappointed in Judge Lasnik. He allowed the misuse of the Voting Rights Act to allow a partisan gerrymander of the Washington state redistricting map. This map DECREASES the number of Hispanics in Washington’s Majority-Minority district.

This case was all about sheer political power. Democrats want more of it. If they can get it, they want a supermajority in the legislature. And they found a federal judge willing to give it to them.

This is a lousy time to be a mapmaker. Especially if you’re a mapmaker trying to plot the exact boundaries of Central Washington’s ever-changing legislative districts, which are now awaiting a U.S. Supreme Court review

In a Democrat-controlled state, when a federal judge appointed by a Democrat president makes a decision on redistricting that affects no incumbent Democrats and multiple Republicans, voters may reasonably be skeptical of the impartiality of the results.

An entirely new slate of state lawmakers could represent the Lower Yakima Valley under new state voting maps. A federal judge ordered new boundaries for state legislative districts in Central Washington on March 15, shaking up the seats of the senators and representatives the region sends to Olympia.

U.S. District Court Judge Robert Lasnik ruled that the Yakima Valley needed new legislative districts to comply with the federal Voting Rights Act and give Latinos a better chance to elect candidates. The ruling was appealed by intervenors in the case, but the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision means the map will stay in place.The new legislative district maps affect 13 districts across Central Washington and put several Republican lawmakers outside their old districts. Notably, there are no incumbents in state legislative races in the new 14th District in the Lower Yakima Valley.

Lasnik should have been mindful of the potential consequences of making unwanted assumptions about the political affiliations of Hispanics. If he had done so, he could have contributed to fostering a more inclusive and just society where everyone is valued and respected based on their unique qualities and beliefs.

I represented the 15th Legislative District in the state House of Representatives from 2019 until 2022. That’s when its boundaries were redrawn to create a 52% voting-age Latino district.