Congressional Redistricting Plan Puts Kirkland in Big, Evenly Split 1st District

Kirkland would sit at the southern end of a large, politically split “swing” district under a draft congressional redistricting plan issued Wednesday, not at all like the suburban area now represented by outgoing U.S. Rep Jay Inslee.

Some are saying the plan’s new 1st Congressional District would throw together far-reaching communities with little in common and that it would be hard for any congressman to keep up with such a range of differing issues.

The current 1st  District is a horseshoe-shaped, largely Democratic area of north Seattle-area suburbs. The new 1st District would incorporate the Redmond area and stretch north through Snohomish, Skagit and Whatcom counties to the U.S.-Canada border, and would be split evenly between Democrat and Republican-leaning communities.

Former U.S. Sen. Slade Gorton, who negotiated the new plan with , said it would easily be the most evenly split district in America.

“That means the voting history for Democrats and Republicans is very closely split, resulting in a ‘swing district,’” said Dave Asher, who recently . “Identifying common interests will certainly not be as perfect.”

The new 1st District would include 672,450 residents and ethnically be overwhelmingly white, with 22.42 percent of its population people of color. Congressional redistricting was triggered by the 2010 U.S. Census, which showed Washington’s population had become large enough to earn a 10th congressional district. The Washington State Redistricting Commission has until Saturday to approve a proposal.

The draft plan does keep intact the full field of candidates already vying to replace Inslee, who has in 2012. They include State Rep., business owner , former state lawmaker  and former Inslee challenger . Redmond resident Darcy Burner, who unsuccesfully challenged Reichert in 2006 and 2008, has also announced her intentions to run for Congress in 2012.

Asher points out a likely Republican candidate would be Snohomish County Council Member John Koster, who has run twice against Democratic U.S. Rep. Rick Larson in the current 2nd Congressional District.

Whomever is elected in 2012 as the 1st District representative in Congress will have a host of issues to become familiar with if the draft plan is approved.

“I  see many more 'communities of interest' than what we have had for the
past couple of decades,” said Asher. “The expansive nature of what might be Kirkland’s new congressional district would certainly stretch the ability of an elected official to keep up with the multitude of issues...”