Judge's decision divides Klickitat County voters
Judge's decision splits Klickitat County among LDs 14 and 17
The vast majority of Klickitat County residents will find themselves in a new legislative district beginning April 24, the result of a federal judge's decision based on a violation of the Voting Rights Act.
This decision, the culmination of a lawsuit brought against the state shortly after a contentious statewide redistricting process completed in November 2021, has been working its way through the courts for more than two years. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Hispanic voters in the Yakima Valley. It alleged that the redistricting impaired the ability of Latino voters to elect their preferred candidates. Last August, Federal District Court Judge Robert Lasnik sided with the plaintiffs and solicited revised LD maps. On Friday, Lasnik chose one of those maps.
That decision created a ripple effect that shifted at least 300,000 voters in 13 legislative districts across the state--including Klickitat County.
Now, as can be seen in the above map, most Klickitat County voters will reside in LD 17 when the new map takes effect. The southern part of the county east of Bingen, east of the Klickitat River, and east of Goldendale, will remain in LD 14. But the county itself stays intact--we're still the Klickitat County Democrats, a party representing county residents in two LDs instead of one. Also, in anticipation of this change, the KCDP has been dialoguing with both of the LD 14 and the LD 17 Democratic chairs, and we have good working relatonships.
The Klickitat County Democrats do not have an exact breakdown of which precincts will belong to LD, but we're going to give it our best guess here:
LD 14 Precincts: Alder Creek, Alderdale, Centerville, Columbus, East Klickitat, East Lyle, High Prairie, Lyle, North Dalles, Roosevelt, West Klickitat, Wishram, and Woodland
LD 17 Precincts: Appleton, Bingen, Fruit Valley (except a tiny rectangle east of Bingen), Glenwood, Goldendale 1, 2, and 3, Husum, Mount Brook, North Fruit Valley, North White Salmon, Orchard Heights, Pine Forest, River, Trout Lake, and White Salmon
In regard to the upcoming Washington State Democrats' June convention, all the delegates who come out of our county will remain aligned with LD 14 for the purposes of selecting state and national delegates.
As for as our Legislative District legislative representatives, Gina Mosbrucker will shift to LD 17, where she'll have to compete against two Republican LD 17 incumbent representatives, and Chris Corry will move to LD 15. Senator Curtis King will finish his term representing LD 14 this year, but if he wants to run for reelection for the next four-year term, he'll have to do so in LD 15.
Even now, none of this is a sure thing. Intervenors and attorneys associated with the Republican Party have appealed to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to block these changes and to request an emergency stay. These same "intervenors" unsuccessfully petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court last year to overturn Lasnik's decision finding a violation of the Voting Rights Act. That doesn't mean that this latest appeal is doomed to fail. Anyone who's been following decisions in recent years knows that the term "unpredictable" aptly describes our judiciary system.
If you want to read more about these decisions, here's an article from the Seattle Times, and here's another article from the Washington State Standard. We'll do our best to keep everyone updated.
Klickitat County Dems stepping up to volunteer
Numerous individuals on the KCDP Letters to the Editor team have had letters published recently in one or more of our local newspapers, including Barbara Beattie, Mark Browne, Howard Bulick, Sandy Dement, April George, Steve Heitmann, Sue Kusch, Sandy Montag, and Bob Yoesle. Kudos to team leaders Mark Browne and Sue Kusch!
We're getting more volunteers signing up to help staff our KCDP Booths at local festivals and at the county fair this year. Haven't signed up yet? Here's the link. Four individuals have signed up to be on the KCDP Booth Planning team--bravo!
More than 30 individuals have already picked up a Bob Ferguson for Governor yard sign. Did you get yours yet? Reply to this email if you want one.
Over 60 members have paid their 2024 dues. It costs money to rent booths at events, so every bit helps. Some of you have donated more than that--thank you! If you haven't done so yet, click this link to find out the different ways you can join or renew. Thank you! (You can join for free if your financial situation prevents you from paying. Just let us know you need a free membership, and we'll place you on our membership roll.)
Upcoming Events
Goldendale Drinking Democratically is back!: We'll resume gathering at 6 p.m. on the third Thursday each month, beginning March 21, at Ayutla's Mexican Restaurant, 630 E. Simcoe Drive, Goldendale
West County Drinking Democratically: Fourth Thursday each month--so March 28 this month, 6:30 p.m. at Ayutlense Mexican Restaurant, 120 E. Steuben, Bingen
KCDP Quarterly Membership Meeting: 6 p.m. June 3, location to be announced. WA State Treasurer Mike Pellicciotti and State Insurance Commissioner candidate Patty Kuderer have tentatively committed to join us, so mark your calendar!
Tuesday County Commissioners Meetings: The Commissioners meet on Tuesday mornings at 9 a.m. at the Klickitat County Services Building, 115 West Court, Room #201, in Goldendale. They're accessible via Zoom at this link. Public commentary takes place at the beginning of the meeting. For meeting agendas, click here.