Overall, the Washington State Redistricting Commission did right by South Sound residents. Commissions, for the most part, kept communities of interest together and balanced the population in each of the four districts. South Sound should have considerable sway in the state House and Senate, with the potential of having an equal number of Democrats and Republicans in legislative office.
Four redistricting commissioners are charged with redrawing and balancing congressional and legislative district boundaries after each census. Our focus today is the implications from the recrafting of the 49 legislative districts.
• The 22nd District: Rep. Sam Hunt, D-Olympia, is pleased that the redistricting commission kept Olympia, Lacey and Tumwater into a single, compact district that also includes the three peninsulas – from Cooper Point to Johnson Point. It was, and continues to be, a solid Democratic district.
• The 35th District: A much larger portion of Thurston County is now included in the district that stretches from north of Bremerton in Kitsap County all the way to the outskirts of Lacey and includes all of Mason County.
Republican redistricting commissioner Tom Huff of Gig Harbor said he thinks the 35th, which is served by three Democrats, is among the legislative districts that will become more competitive. Republicans came close to ousting Rep. Kathy Haigh, D-Shelton, two years ago and believe they will be successful with the new district boundaries and the same candidate this year – Daniel Griffey, an Allyn firefighter.
Republicans are also banking on Drew MacEwen, who runs an investment firm in Union, can capture the other 35th District House seat being vacated by retiring Rep. Fred Finn, D-Belfair.
Republicans say ousting Haigh and replacing Democrat Finn with a Republican is key to their strategy to gain majority control in the state House of Representatives.
Thurston County residents will have a greater role in deciding the outcome of both House races thanks to the redrawn boundary lines. Best guesses are the new 35th District will be a swing district with conservative Democrats and Republicans given an equal opportunity to capture legislative office.
• The 20th District: For the first time in 15 years, the team of Sen. Dan Swecker, R-Rochester, Rep. Gary Alexander, R-Olympia and Rep. Richard Debolt, R-Chehalis, is going to be broken up. Alexander was one of a just a handful of incumbent lawmakers redrawn out of their district. Alexander’s rural Lacey home will now be in the 2nd Legislative District.
Alexander said Republicans on the redistricting commission came to him and said if he agreed to the shift, it would increase their chances of ousting Haigh and capturing the majority. “I’m a team player and I told them if it helps the overall cause, I would go along with it,” Alexander said.
Alexander, who is the top ranking Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee, said it’s his long-held dream to have Republicans capture the majority which would give him the gavel in the budget writing committee.
The new 2nd District, which loses a considerable number of voters in south Thurston County by shifting southward to include most of Lewis and Cowlitz counties and the northern portion of Clark County, should still be a solid Republican district.
• The 2nd District: This is Alexander’s new home district, and stretches from the outskirts of Lacey to include Yelm, Roy, Orting and all of eastern Pierce County. His chances for re-election in the new district are greater because Rep. Jim McCune, R-Graham, is pushed into the 28th District, creating a vacancy. The 2nd should remain a Republican district.
Alexander says his top priority is running for re-election in his new district, but he’s also pushing to get his boss, Thurston County Auditor Kim Wyman, elected secretary of state. If that happens, you can bet Alexander, who is the deputy auditor for finance, will leave the Legislature and seek appointment to Wyman’s vacant auditor position.
The stage is set. It’s going to be a fascinating year politically with Wyman seeking statewide office, with Alexander positioning himself for both a new legislative seat and the county auditor position, with Democrats firmly ensconced in the 22nd District, with Republicans holding the advantage in the 20th and 2nd Legislative Districts, and with the 35th District set as a battleground for both political parties.
It’s going to be an interesting year on the local legislative election front – thanks in large part to new district boundaries.
