New WA legislative districts could dilute Tri-Cities clout in Olympia | Opinion

A federal judge ran the Mid-Columbia’s legislative districts through the blender, and the local delegation to Olympia won’t be the same.

The judge’s order came after advocates successfully argued that the boundaries of the 15th District did not include enough Latino voters to ensure that their interests were represented in the Washington Legislature. That, they contended, violated the federal Voting Rights Act. It’s important to understand what wasn’t “enough.” Latinos were 51.5% of voters in the 15th District, and they elected a Latina senator to represent them. They just elected the wrong kind – a Republican. Sen. Nikki Torres doesn’t match their assumptions or their partisanship.

It’s a Democratic conceit that they alone represent Latino interests. Indeed, when Democratic legislators this year formed the state’s first Latino Caucus, they pointedly excluded Torres and another Republican senator from their ranks.

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.

Judge Robert Lasnik of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington in Seattle sliced and diced a half dozen Mid-Columbia districts. They now sprawl and intertwine, separating neighbors and lumping together far-flung communities. For example, residents of the new 14th District who live in the Tri-Cities would have to drive through two other districts to reach some points on the far side of their own district. If candidates and elections break the wrong way, the Tri-Cities could be reduced to only a couple of legislators, the rest of our representation coming from near Walla Walla, Spokane, Yakima or other far reaches of the new districts. On the other hand, if they break the right way, we could have outsized influence. Nothing is guaranteed.

A while back, Pasco tweaked its city and school elections to make sure the Latino vote was not diluted. Yet the governing bodies remain mostly white and conservative. Th judge insisted he wasn’t being partisan. “The map was not drawn or adopted to favor or discriminate against either political party, but rather to unite the Latino community of interest in the Yakima Valley region,” he wrote.

Even if partisan gain wasn’t his intent, it’s the likely result. Democrat-aligned organizations cheered the new map and saw ample opportunity to pick up seats in the Legislature. Most egregiously, the redrawn districts remove Sen. Torres from the 15th District that she now represents. Redistricting shouldn’t be about incumbent protection, but it will be a loss to the region and to diversity in the Legislature if she does not return after her term expires in two years.

In her current first term, she has demonstrated keen political skills and a willingness to compromise. With more than three dozen bills introduced and several passed, she’s been a productive freshman lawmaker. Yet her path back to Olympia would be difficult. She could wage a primary campaign against the incumbent in her new 16th District or move into the new 15th.

Torres wouldn’t be the only senator to move in response to the changes. Sen. Brad Hawkins and his family will move to Wenatchee from East Wenatchee because the new district lines run between those communities, leaving his home on the wrong side. The real test of the new districts, gerrymandering notwithstanding, will be whether voters benefit, not partisans.

If communities are better able to voice their concerns at the ballot box, if diverse groups have seats at the table, and if voters are able to elect officials who truly represent them and not just the usual small groups who hold power, then the new maps will have done their job, albeit in an ugly way.