A3
THE ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2021
Districts: Biggest changes are around the Bend area
Continued from Page A1
While revisions are likely, the early pre-
sentations shed some light on the push-and-
pull that will go on before an expected spe-
cial session of the legislature begins Sept. 20
to try to pass a single plan.
make a Republican victory either highly
likely or very possible. One big change would
shift the Astoria area out of the district that
takes in a chunk of heavily-Democratic Mult-
nomah and Washington counties. It would
move into a district that encompasses more of
the coast and only moves inland south of the
Portland metro area.
Sixth congressional seat
An immediate diff erence was where to put
the new, sixth congressional seat — Oregon’s
fi rst new congressional seat in 40 years.
Plans from Democrats and Republicans
both used common redistricting methods
known as “cracking and packing.”
The proposed Democratic map “cracked”
Portland into chunks parceled out into three
districts. The newest of the confi gurations
stretches east from Portland to Hood River
then south to Bend. The cities are in Hood
River and Deschutes counties — the only
counties east of the Cascades won by Presi-
dent Joe Biden in his defeat of President Don-
ald Trump in 2020. The change would shift
the cities from representation by the congres-
sional delegation’s only Republican, fresh-
man U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz, of Ontario , to one
likely represented by the most liberal con-
gress member, U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, a
Portland Democrat.
Republicans would be “packed” into the
remaining areas east of the Cascades, mak-
ing Bentz’s district even more prohibitively
Republican than now. Blumenauer’s dis-
trict would become less Democratic-lean-
ing, but remain a tough race for Republicans.
The other four districts would be remolded
to make them less of a nail biter for Demo-
cratic incumbents, especially U.S. Rep. Peter
DeFazio, of Springfi eld, and U.S. Rep. Kurt
Schrader, of Salem.
Republicans proposed “packing” as many
Democrats as possible into a district centered
on Portland. A GOP win in Oregon’s larg-
est city would be even more of a long shot.
But the plan keeps Bend and Hood River as
blue islands in a Republican red sea east of
the Cascades.
With each party having a slam-dunk win,
the other four districts were confi gured to
House and Senate
Adding to the already tough task was three
diff erent plans for how to divvy up the Sen-
ate and House seats — one each from House
Democrats, House Republicans and Senate
Democrats.
Drawing those lines was already tough
because of the requirement that each Sen-
ate seat encompass two House seats, with
requirements for near equal populations,
respecting communities of interest, geo-
graphic unity, follow transportation links and
elements of the federal Voting Rights Act that
could lead to lawsuits contending district lines
were drawn to disadvantage racial minorities.
The biggest changes are around the Bend
area, which grew by over 20% in the past 10
years, twice the state rate. The total number
of House seats would increase in the region,
with at least two being likely Democratic
wins based on voter registration. Senate Dis-
trict 27, currently held by Sen. Tim Knopp,
R-Bend, would move from being a swing dis-
trict that the Republican has been able to hold
despite ever-tighter races, to one Democrats
have a strong chance of fl ipping in the future.
Knopp said it was too early to get overly
concerned about the fi nal outcome. He
pointed to additional plans submitted to the
committees by Oregon residents using a state
software program to draw lines. Lawmakers
also have several hearings to get input from
all areas of the state and political hues.
“There hasn’t been agreement on the
plans,” he said. “There can’t be agreement
without the public.”
The stark diff erences in starting points
makes it less likely that a plan can get through
the L egislature and avoid a veto by Gov. Kate
Brown.
The Oregon C onstitution calls for redis-
tricting to be done by the L egislature and
approved by the governor.
But this offi cial “Plan A” has only worked
twice since 1911. Partisan splits in the L eg-
islature, vetoes by a governor or legal chal-
lenges that threw the maps into the courts
have more often been the result of the once-
a-decade shifting of lines due to population
changes.
The constitutional fallback is for legisla-
tive districts to be drawn by the secretary of
state, while maps for the congressional dis-
tricts are handled by a special panel of fi ve
judges. The plans then go to the Oregon
Supreme Court for review.
Democrats hold a political trifecta — the
House, Senate and governor’s offi ce are all
controlled by the party. It seemed that 2021
would be a rare year to have the process in the
constitution play out with Republicans lim-
ited to complaining from the sidelines.
Upended expectations
The COVID-19 crisis upended expecta-
tions. U.S. Census data was delayed by six
months and it took an Oregon Supreme Court
decision to give the L egislature a shot at com-
ing up with maps — but in a compressed
timeline with a hard deadline of Sept. 27 to
have a plan to the justices. After that, the sec-
retary of state and the judges panel would
draw the lines, which the court would review.
The pandemic also led to a controver-
sial deal giving Republicans a central role in
redistricting. House GOP leaders used parlia-
mentary tactics to slow the progress of Dem-
ocratic legislation during the 2021 session.
House Speaker Tina Kotek, D-Portland, wor-
ried that the constitutionally-mandated dead-
line to end the 180-day session at the end of
June would arrive with key bills left to die.
Kotek struck a deal with House Minority
Leader Christine Drazan, R-Canby. In
exchange for speeding up voting on bills,
Drazan would get a seat on the House Redis-
tricting Committee. The move gave Republi-
cans equal numbers of the panel.
Drazan essentially had a veto over what
plan the committee could send to the L eg-
islature. But Drazan also had to decide how
far to push her advantage. Any compro-
mise worked out by lawmakers could still be
vetoed by Brown. Legislative redistricting
would be done by Secretary of State Shemia
Fagan, a Democratic state senator from Port-
land elected in 2020. If that happened, Repub-
licans would be shut out of any say in districts
that would be in place for a decade.
“It will be a tough needle to thread,” Dra-
zan said during a media call after the meeting.
Sen. Kathleen Taylor, D-Milwaukie, chair
of the Senate Redistricting Committee, said
speculation on the fi nal shape of any plan was
premature. Hearings could raise issues the
committee may have missed.
“We want to hear what Oregonians have to
say about the maps proposed — what works,
what doesn’t,” she said.
Independent commissions
The League of Women Voters and other
non partisan groups hope this will be the last
redistricting under the current system. Cal-
ifornia, Washington and several other states
have moved away from the traditional redis-
tricting process used in Oregon to create inde-
pendent commissions to draw new district
lines. In the rest of the nation, the commis-
sions are often a cause of Democrats who are
in the minority in most legislatures.
Whichever party benefi ts, reformers say
lawmakers need to be removed from the
process.
“There is no amount of technical savvy or
sophisticated mapping software that removes
the inherent confl ict of interest that exists
when partisan legislators are given the ben-
efi t of drawing their own electoral lines —
the fox is guarding the henhouse,’’ said Nor-
man Turrill, chair of People Not Politicians,
the Portland-based coalition advocating for a
commission in Oregon.
The group still hopes to get a ballot mea-
sure before voters in 2022. But no change will
likely occur in districts until the next census
in 2030 leads to a new set of political maps
in 2032.
The Oregon Capital Bureau is a collabo-
ration between EO Media Group and Pam-
plin Media Group.
Booster shot: People will not be able to get their fi rst vaccine at booster clinics
Continued from Page A1
People with weak immune systems —
such as those severely infected with HIV
or being treated for cancer — can get the
booster 28 days after a shot. They often need
an extra dose to achieve the normal immu-
nity that others get from one or two doses.
Rebecca Coplin, the interim chief execu-
tive of Providence Seaside Hospital, said in
an email: “While the CDC only recommends
that people with moderately to severely
compromised immune systems receive an
additional dose, we encourage anyone who
is eligible to do so.”
The boosters will be given in the same
order of priority as were the fi rst vaccina-
tions: emergency responders and health care
workers, then senior citizens and fi nally the
wider population, the county said.
Bennett said the P ublic H ealth D epart-
ment hopes it can inform people who got
their vaccinations earlier this year at a coun-
ty-run clinic when they are due for a booster.
People will not be able to get their fi rst
vaccine at booster clinics, he said.
Coplin added: “For everyone, our best
defense in the fi ght against COVID is to get
the COVID vaccines you are eligible for,
continue to wear masks indoors, outdoors
when physical distancing isn’t possible, and
to keep your hands clean.”
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