The Cascade Curtain?

Reprinted in Full from a Yakima Herald Editorial. 

From the Yakima Herald-Republic Online News.

Posted on Friday, December 31, 2010

How the 'Cascade Curtain' could open -- just a bit

Yakima Herald-Republic

For decades, political officials and observers have looked for ways to part the "Cascade Curtain," Washington state's mountainous physical boundary that also embodies the economic, philosophical and political split between east and west. Folks on this side of the state constantly lament that they are outvoted, outmaneuvered and overlooked by the wealthier, more populous westside.

The curtain could open just a bit, thanks to the 2010 Census and the population growth that it documented in Washington state during the past decade.

Since 2000, the number of state residents has risen 14.1 percent to 6,724,540, enough to add one congressional seat to the current nine. The 4th Congressional District's population almost kept pace with the state, gaining 13.4 percent, with much of that growth in the Tri-Cities and, to a lesser extent, in Kittitas and Grant counties. The Spokane-dominated 5th District saw a little over half that rate at 7.5 percent.

Take a look at the accompanying map, and you'll see the 4th District, represented by Republican Doc Hastings of Pasco, now is a sprawling but intuitive compendium of Yakima, Kittitas, Klickitat, Benton, Franklin, Grant, Chelan and Douglas counties. The western boundary runs right along the Cascade crest.

The state's new districts will need to average about 672,000 people (nice of the 10 seats to make that math easy). To do that, according to the Washington State Redistricting Commission, the 4th District will need to "lose" 90,280 people -- or more correctly, have that number transfer to another district. In the 5th District, just over 50,000 residents are so affected. So more than 140,000 people east of the Cascades will need to find a new congressional home. That means one, maybe two westside districts are going to come over our way.

The early scuttlebutt offers two prospects for the new 10th District: one is based in Olympia and would take a chunk of population from Southwest Washington's fast-growing 3rd; a second sets up a Bellevue-based 10th that would severely alter the 8th, now centered in the suburbs south and east of Lake Washington. Under the first scenario, the 3rd would extend up the Columbia River Gorge to Klickitat and Yakima counties; under the second, the 8th would follow Interstate 90 into Kittitas and Yakima counties.

Both districts recently elected Republicans, newcomer Jamie Herrera Beutler of Camas in the 3rd and veteran Dave Reichert of Auburn in the 8th. Either or both would be attuned to the political leanings of the Yakima Valley, and having another congressional representative or two familiar with Valley issues could add to this area's clout.

History favors a Valley tie-in with the Columbia Gorge and the 3rd; during the 1970s, the 4th District stretched into the city of Vancouver, and the 15th Legislative District edges into eastern Clark County now. While Clark County is heavily urban and suburban, the resource-based economy of outlying areas bears similarities to parts of the 4th. On the flip side, population trends may augur for the 8th, as upper Kittitas County sees growing numbers of "206ers," a reference to newcomers whose phones bear Seattle's area code.

That said, we believe a bloc of Valley votes with one new congressional representative would hold more sway than would votes diluted by both the 3rd and the 8th. The districts must be equal in population, but federal law requires districts to consider cities, counties and "communities of interest" whenever possible.

Thanks to a 1983 constitutional amendment, the state's redistricting process is fairly straightforward. Decades of legislative shenanigans led to the change, which yanked the process from legislators and set up the bipartisan redistricting commission. The panel, reappointed every decade, consists of four voting members, two each chosen by Democratic and Republican legislative leaders. Those four then pick a fifth nonvoting member as a chair. The Legislature approves the final maps but can make only minor changes. The first elections under the new districts will take place in 2012.

The Democrats have picked their representatives: former Seattle Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis and former state House Clerk Dean Foster. Republicans have yet to announce their picks, but we hope the GOP acknowledges its Central Washington power base and chooses someone, who, if not from east of the mountains, is at least attuned to this region's redistricting interests.

Much of the attention on the new congressional seat has focused on the state's overall congressional and presidential clout; the new seat brings the state's electoral vote total to 12. Within the state's increased national profile, Central Washington could gain some clout of its own. It may not be the Cascade Curtain raiser, but it may set the stage for enhanced political influence for our Valley.

Members of the Yakima Herald-Republic editorial board are Sharon J. Prill, Bob Crider, Frank Purdy and Karen Troianello.