Bend Mayor Melanie Kebler may be on advisory panel to help draft zones map for 5 Deschutes County commissioners
BEND, Ire, (KTVZ) -- Deschutes County commissioners on Monday announced their nominees for the county’s District Mapping Advisory Committee, which will create a map of five districts so voters can be asked next year if the newly expanded, five-member board should be elected by district, rather than at-large.
The committee will be tasked with drafting a commissioner district map, which will be considered by the board and then by Deschutes County voters in 2026. If passed by voters, the new districts would be in place for the 2028 election.
This initiative follows the passage of Ballot Measure 9-173, which expands the Board of County Commissioners from three to five members.
Approved by voters last November, the ballot measure laid the groundwork for two new commissioners to be elected at-large in 2026.
In response, the BOCC agreed to appoint a citizen advisory committee to propose representative districts for each board member, instead of maintaining five at-large positions. Commissioners will select a total of seven members to serve on the DMAC.
Commissioner Chair Tony DeBone said he will appoint:
- Ned Dempsey, Bend
- Bernie Brader, La Pine
Commissioner Patti Adair will appoint:
- Matt Cyrus, Sisters
- Phil Henderson, Bend
Commissioner Phil Chang will appoint three of his five nominees:
- Melanie Kebler, Bend
- Andrew Kaza, Redmond
- Carol Loesche, Bend
- Jim Porter, Tumalo
- Bryce Kellogg, Bend
Commissioners will confirm the committee appointments during their regularly scheduled meeting on Wednesday at 9 a.m. in the Barnes Sawyer Room of the Deschutes Services building at 1300 NW Wall St. in Bend.
The meeting is open to the public and can be attended in person or virtually. The meeting agenda and virtual login information are available at deschutes.org/meetings.
