I compared notes with Castillo by email this week and he is definitely considering a run in the new 10th. “I am weighing a decision. I have not heard any other names, but [I] would be surprised if we did not see at least one R from Thurston County jump in,” he wrote.
Population growth over the last decade gave Washington its 10th seat in the U.S. House that will be filled in the November 2012 election. The draft boundaries show it ranging from Shelton to Olympia (taking in most of Thurston County except the town of Bucoda and a sliver along the south edge) and several Pierce County communities ranging from DuPont to University Place and including the Joint Base Lewis McChord, Puyallup and Sumner.
Already in the race are Dick Muri of Lakewood and Stan Flemming of University Place, both Republicans and both members of the Pierce County Council. Heck, a former state House member from Vancouver, later co-founded the TVW public-affairs network and became wealthy as an entrepreneur and investor.
No other Democrat has emerged as a candidate in the 10th.
Castillo served as an appointee of President George W. Bush at the Department of Homeland Security and previously served as deputy assistant secretary for congressional and legislative affairs at the Department of Veterans Affairs. More recently he was chief of staff to House Republican Caucus in Olympia before going into the private sector as a financial adviser with Edward Jones.
The boundaries of the state’s 10 districts still need final approval
of the Washington State Redistricting Commission by Sunday, the New Year’s deadline for sending a plan to the Legislature.
The draft plan for congressional districts was crafted jointly by Republican Slade Gorton and Democrat Tim Ceis, and it needs just one other vote from the five-member commission to win approval.
The commission is meeting again at 10:30 today to see if it can iron out differences over Latino-majority legislative districts in the Yakima area. Those differences led to a breakdown in talks between Democrat commissioner Dean Foster and Republican commissioner Tom Huff on Wednesday, forcing the debate into a public forum that was still not resolved on Thursday.
Foster said he saw many things to like in the draft plan crafted. But it is not clear what changes he might demand before voting for it.
