Deschutes County districting measure appears headed for defeat

Spencer Sacks

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Deschutes County Measure 9-185, a ballot measure proposing to divide the county into five separate commissioner districts, appears headed for defeat based on preliminary vote totals.

County election returns show the measure failing, with approximately 61,000 voters opposed and about 38,000 in favor.

Proposal would have created five geographic districts

If passed, the proposal would have established distinct geographic seats for the Deschutes County Board of Commissioners: two representing Bend, one in South County, one in Redmond and one covering northern Deschutes County, including Sisters.

During the campaign, supporters of the proposal, known as Map C, argued that districting would provide greater representation and access for residents living outside of Bend. Opponents countered that the proposed boundaries were drawn to create a partisan advantage for one political party.

Future districting efforts would require voter approval

With the measure failing, the districting process could unfold in several ways. The effort could come to an end without further action, or county commissioners could choose to craft a new proposal to bring before voters in a future election.

Alternatively, local residents could organize a grassroots petition drive to place a districting initiative on the ballot, similar to a 2022 ballot measure that converted the county board to nonpartisan seats. Deschutes County Clerk Steve Dennison emphasized that any modification to the commissioner election system ultimately requires voter approval.

“One way to to have that change be put in place is for somebody to circulate an initiative petition and or a group to organize an initiative petition to have that question put in front of the voters,” Dennison said.

Chang supports districting but opposed Measure 9-185

Deschutes County Commissioner Phil Chang expressed mixed feelings regarding the vote. While Chang supports districting in principle, he publicly opposed Measure 9-185 because of concerns over the map and the process used to create it.

“They used the wrong numbers,” Chang said. “And in my opinion, it was designed to create a disproportionate partizan advantage in elections. So I, I’m sad because I do believe in districts and principle, but, I wish we had sent the voters a good proposal.”

Past setbacks inform push for a new proposal

Efforts to district the county have stumbled in the past. Deschutes County voters previously rejected a districting proposal in 2006 during a vote on a proposed home rule charter. Chang noted that the current process suffered from similar procedural flaws.

“There were a lot of problems with the the process that produced this, this measure,” Chang said. “But one of the most fundamental problems with that, that process was that it did not give people an opportunity to consider different district structures.”

Despite the measure’s apparent defeat, Chang said he plans to continue working on a future districting proposal for the ballot. His goal is to provide voters with multiple options and distinct district layout choices.

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