Olympia ­ The Washington State Redistricting Commission today received Washington’s Census 2000 Redistricting Data Summary File from the U.S. Census Bureau.  This file contains the April 1, 2000, census results for Washington’s 5.9 million residents.  It includes the first new population counts for small areas, as well as race and Hispanic-origin information, and will be used by the Commission to redraw the state’s legislative and congressional district boundaries by December 15, 2001.  The data was also delivered to Gov. Gary Locke and the majority and minority leaders of the state Legislature.

The data will enable the five-member Commission to analyze a decade of Washington’s population growth and shifts prior to realigning the state’s 49 legislative and nine congressional districts ­ a process required by state and federal law every 10 years to ensure fair allocation of political power through equally populated districts.

“While the release of the new census data is important to Washington in many ways, its benefits to the redistricting efforts cannot be fully realized without careful analysis, deliberation and public participation,” said Graham Johnson, chairman of the Washington State Redistricting Commission.  In following with Johnson’s comments, the Commission will make soliciting public input a top priority through a series of meetings to be conducted throughout the state during late spring and summer.

“With proper analysis and public input, the release of the data will allow the Commission to begin its year-long effort of updating the critical political boundaries in earnest, ” said Commissioner John Giese of Bellevue.

The Commission also noted that the process would be made ‘public-friendly’ through the use of traditional and technological routes.

“Public meetings, changes in redistricting technology, and the Internet will enable us to be responsive to the needs of Washingtonians while informing them of our efforts throughout the year,” said Commissioner Bobbi Krebs-McMullen, a Mount Vernon resident.

To assist with the dissemination of the new data, the Commission has produced a preliminary set of maps and population summaries with 1990 and 2000 information for the current legislative and congressional districts. The complete Public Law 94-171 Redistricting Data Summary File, along with maps and other redistricting information, will be available via the Commission’s Web site, www.redistricting.wa.gov. Additional census information for Washington will also be posted on the Bureau’s Web site located at www.census.gov and at the Washington State Office of Financial Management’s Web site, www.ofm.wa.gov.

In 1983, Washington voters approved an initiative amending the state constitution that assigned the responsibility for redrawing legislative and congressional district boundaries to an independent, bipartisan Redistricting Commission.   In accordance with the initiative, the four legislative leaders each appointed one voting member to the Commission in January 2001.  These four members then selected Graham Johnson to serve as the non-voting chairman.

The voting commissioners are:

• Richard A. Derham
  
• Dean R. Foster
• John Giese
• Bobbi Krebs-McMullen

The next Commission meeting will be at 1p.m. on Thursday, April 5, in the Commission offices — 3rd floor Republic Building, 505 E. Union Avenue, Olympia (corner of Union and Jefferson).

For additional information, contact Ethan Moreno at 360/586-9000.

For interviews with the commissioners, please contact the Commission office at 360/586-9000.  Biographical information for each commissioner and the chairman is available at www.redistricting.wa.gov.

(Archived news releases can be found by clicking Archives in the menu bar above.)