Redistricting committee splits Magnolia; community effort underway to challenge
The Magnolia Community Council in the past month launched a fundraising effort to support community members who wish to challenge the final City Council map presented to the county by appealing.
The redistricting committee was charged with redrawing council district map boundaries this year to reflect changes in population. Because District 7, currently represented by Councilmember Andrew Lewis, grew the most, boundary adjustments had to be made to reflect that growth and redistribute populations in council districts more equitably.
Community concerns
Throughout the process, Magnolia organizations such as the Community Council and the Chamber of Commerce have protested proposals to divide Magnolia into more than one council district, in this case districts 6 and 7, and separate the neighborhood from Queen Anne.
One of the earlier map proposals had Magnolia split into districts 6 and 7, dividing Magnolia Village in the process. In response, more than 3,000 comments were submitted to the redistricting committee voicing their disapproval and recommending the neighborhood be kept whole.
At the beginning of October, it looked like those arguments worked as the redistricting committee approved an amended map that kept Magnolia together. Commissioners reconsidered that map in the last month, and the final map approved and submitted to the county Nov. 15 entailed splitting Magnolia into two, but keeping Magnolia Village whole.
At last week’s Magnolia Community Council meeting, members discussed how successful an appeal to the map could be and how MCC could aid in the process.
While MCC can’t file an appeal, members agreed the funds raised would be used to support any residents who wish to join a lawsuit challenging the district map and could also be used to help pay for legal fees.
“While we cannot say with 100 percent certainty that a request for a review will be successful, we believe that we have a good foundation for a complaint based on the simple fact that the final map does not meet the outlined charter guidelines,” according to an email the MCC sent to its newsletter subscribers.
The rules for redrawing
According to the City Charter, rules for redrawing districts state, among other things:
“Boundaries shall be drawn to make districts that are as compact as possible and geographically contiguous.”
“Districts shall not be gerrymandered, and population data may not be used for purposes of favoring or disfavoring any racial group or political party.”
“To the extent practical, new boundaries should/shall follow existing district boundaries.”
“To the extent feasible, new boundaries shall follow recognized waterways and geographic boundaries.”
“To the extent possible, new boundaries shall preserve Seattle communities and neighborhoods.”
As of Nov. 15, MCC’s fundraising campaign has generated about $7,000, including pledges.
“In just over four days, we have raised roughly half of what is needed to retain legal representation to petition for a review of the map,” according to the MCC newsletter. “MCC and additional community volunteers have been working round the clock to pull together information for our petition, meet with prospective attorneys and appellants, and review all options available to us.”
The newsletter stipulates, however, that if a challenge to the map does not move forward, any money donated will be refunded through the MCC’s PayPal account and mailed checks will not be cashed.
To read more from MCC, or to donate, visit mailchi.mp/3c5b5c4699ea/commission-ignores-redistricting-public-comments-here-are-next-steps. People can also reach out to the MCC about joining the efforts by emailing Magnoliacommunityclub@gmail.com.
Chamber conversations
While the Magnolia Chamber of Commerce is interested in seeing if a formal challenge is launched before the end of the month and is supportive of whatever MCC chooses to do, spokesperson Ann Goos said the chamber is prepared to accept the final map results. She said chamber representatives will begin conversations with different organizations and representatives in District 6 in the coming weeks so the chamber can continue advocating and supporting Magnolia businesses regardless of their council district.
“Businesses, I think, are pretty much always going to be a pragmatic interest group,” Goos said. “They want to do business, and they want to be able to do business easily.”
She said the greatest hope is that whomever the two council members representing those two districts are, that they can work together to best serve their constituents.
To learn more about the redistricting process, visit seattle.gov/redistricting/how-to-participate.