UPDATE: In a pair of 2-1 votes, Deschutes County commissioners send five-district map to voters in November
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — After hearing from another packed meeting room that again voiced divided opinions, Deschutes County commissioners voted 2-1 Wednesday to send a proposed five-district map to county voters - and in another 2-1 vote, to put it on the November, not May ballot.
The months of work and hours of discussion, debate and citizen testimony led to Wednesday's decisions.
Map C, as recommended by an advisory committee, gas two commission seats representing Bend and one each for the areas of Redmond, Sisters and south county (La Pine and Sunriver).
During the packed house-meeting, with many holding signs either decrying "rigged districts" or urging that the board "Let Deschutes Vote!," residents shared their views before the commissioners' decision.
KTVZ’s Spencer Sacks was at the meeting and spoke with county residents about the map and the issues. He’ll have a full report at KTVZ News at 5:00 p.m. on NBC.
There was something of a new twist on the board's split at the start of the meeting, as only deliberations on the map were on the agenda, after previous public hearings.
While every regular-meeting agenda begins with a time set aside for "citizen input," Commissioner Tony DeBone said the public had "many opportunities to speak on this" and that "I just don't support this as another opportunity to speak on the same subject."
Commissioner Phil Chang, who was elected chair this year, disagreed, saying: "It is our job to listen to the public." Colleague Patti Adair suggested a compromise - limiting the comments to 90 seconds, rather than two minutes. Chang agreed.
At the end, Chang again said that while he believes in districts, the map, based on voter rolls and not population, "disenfranchises tens of thousands" of residents, and raises the likelihood of a costly court fight. His colleagues disagreed, as Adair said asking voters to decide on the map is "an important step forward."
