Your Voice is Needed for Community Districting: First Public Hearing on Monday July 19
No matter our color, background, or whether we live on a country road or in the City of Spokane, Cheney, Airway Heights, Spokane Valley, or Deer Park, most of us believe that voters pick our leaders, our leaders do not pick their voters. To determine how we will be represented and how funds for essential services will be allocated, we come together every decade to draw new district lines that give each of our votes equal weight, each of our voices equal stature, and each of our communities equal resources.
The Community Districting process has begun, and it will create 5 new County Commissioner districts that will each elect their county commissioner starting in 2022. Community districting in Spokane County provides a historic opportunity to implement our grassroots vision countywide on civil rights, racial equity, smart justice, housing justice, and climate justice and sustainability.
What’s at stake: County Commissioners hold an incredible amount of power and influence on decisions that affect all of us. They decide whether or not to build a new jail; set budgets for sheriff, health district, and buses; set the rules for building affordable housing, developing land or protecting open space and farmland; decide whether to fund rental assistance for our families; and decide whether to support or battle Indigenous sovereignty rights. They are also the final decision maker on whether or not everyday people have a voice in decisions that impact us.
Certain politicians are trying to draw district lines to divide us, so they can choose which voices to heed and which to silence. When we come together to speak out for fair districting, we can make our communities whole and deliver what our families and our county need for a decade to come.
PJALS and other Spokane County community organizations are united for fair and equitable representation in Spokane County. This means:
- Increasing the representation of Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) voters and
- Creating fair and competitive districts so elected officials are responsible to their constituents since we are growing from 3 to 5 districts. We deserve accountable and responsive local leaders.
Spokane County Redistricting Committee’s First Public Hearing
Monday, July 19, 5:30 to 7:30 pm
At the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena
720 W. Mallon Avenue, Spokane, WA
Your voice is needed! This hearing is our first opportunity to provide community input on how we want fair and equitable districts to be drawn before the draft plan is published. For talking points for the upcoming hearing and background information click here.
For more information about Spokane County’s redistricting process, public meetings, committee meetings and to make comments in writing, visit www.RedistrictSpokaneCo.com.
What’s next: The Spokane County Redistricting Committee is drafting a districting plan that will be published by August 24. Within 60 days of publishing the draft there will be a public comment period and at least one public hearing. Then the Redistricting Committee will amend the draft and incorporate the final census data. If the Committee can’t agree on the final plan, the process would go to the State Redistricting Commission to make the final decision. The Spokane County Commissioners do not want this to happen, so the pressure is on for the Redistricting Committee to reach agreement on a plan by October 23.
AND — SAVE THE DATE: Public Information Session #2 is scheduled for Thursday, August 5 and Public Hearing #2 is on Thursday, August 12. (Details TBA.)