PORT ANGELES — Clallam County’s easternmost district is 6.13 percent larger than its West End district, 2010 Census information revealed.
To accommodate for the 10-year growth, mostly in the Sequim area — and to comply with the county’s home-rule charter — a five-member districting commission will shift the north-south boundaries of the three commissioners districts to the east so they have equal representation.
It’s a matter of “accommodating the Sequim ripple effect,” Don Corson, Clallam County deputy districting master, told 10 people who attended the first public workshop on re-drawing the districts Thursday in Port Angeles.
“Our job is to try to figure out how to — with public input — make it so each of our districts will be within 5 percent of each other” in population, as the county’s charter requires, Corson said.
“This has nothing to do with the PUD [the Clallam County Public Utility District], with fire districts, with soil conservation districts. It only has to do with our county commissioners,” he emphasized.
Corson said the redistricting process should be transparent, participatory, responsive and straightforward.
“And also, since this only happens once every 10 years, we frankly want to sort of set the standard on how this kind of thing should be done,” Corson said.
“We want to be able to have a record on how we went about doing this.”
According to the county charter, district boundaries should run north and south and be approximately equal in population. The population of the largest district cannot exceed the population of the smallest district by more than 5 percent.
District 1, the eastern third of the county, runs from McDonald Creek near Agnew to the Jefferson County line. Its population swelled from 21,225 in 2000 to 26,444 in 2010.
Commissioner Steve Tharinger, who represents the district, announced Tuesday that he will not seek a fourth term in November.
John Marrs, chairman of the districting commission, said the goal is to draw the new boundaries before the June 6-10 filing period so a candidate isn’t shifted out of his or her own district.
The population of District 2, which runs from the west side of Port Angeles to Agnew, grew from 21,631 people in 2000 to 22,892 in 2010. Commissioner Mike Chapman represents the central district.
District 3, spanning a large geographic area between west Port Angeles and the Pacific Ocean, grew by 399 residents, from 21,669 to 22,068. Commissioner Mike Doherty represents this district.
The total population of Clallam County rose by 6,879 — from 64,525 to 71,404 — between 2000 and 2010.
The population of all three districts was within 0.69 percent of the others after the 2001 districting commission finished its work.
Corson and Districting Master Gene Unger said they will present alternative boundaries to the commission in early May and hold public hearings on the proposals in late May and early June.
Marrs said the public will have an opportunity to comment on the proposals in public hearings in each of the three commissioner district. Dates for those meetings have not been set.
“Today’s purpose is just to get us started,” Marrs said.
The county charter requires the districting master to submit a draft proposal for the new districts to the commission by June 30.
The new boundaries will become effective in 2012.
Clallam is one of six charter counties in the state and the only county using the home-rule form of government on the North Olympic Peninsula.
The districting commission hired Unger and Corson last month. County commissioners approved an $8,500 contract for them March 22.
Among those attending Thursday’s workshop were several public officials: Clallam County Auditor Patty Rosand, Port Angeles City Councilman Max Mania and Clallam County Department of Health and Human Services Director Iva Burks.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
