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Census could change political landscape Medford forum will give residents a voice in process By Dani Dodge The latest census doesn�t just show us who we are today. It is also the cocktail-napkin-scratched road map to who will represent us in the future. And for some in Southern Oregon � that could mean a new state representative or senator. "Some people may find themselves in a different district when we�re done," said Rep. Cherryl Walker, a Murphy Republican who serves on the Rules, Redistricting and Public Affairs Committee in the state House. "The changes will happen around the edges and people may find themselves in a neighboring district." The 2000 Census showed Oregon grew by nearly 600,000 people in the last 10 years. The Legislature is starting to redraw legislative and congressional district boundaries to reflect the growth and movement of people from some parts of the state to others. The population shifts were most pronounced in the north, where Washington County grew and will most likely siphon off a district from Multnomah County, said Sen. Jason Atkinson, the Republican Caucus coordinator who is leading the redistricting effort in the state Senate. Although the Rogue Valley grew at roughly the same rate as the rest of the state as a whole, the regions west, east and north of us grew more slowly. That means outside districts will be pushing in Rogue Valley�s borders in an effort to gain population, Atkinson said. In addition to holding ongoing meetings at the state Capitol about how the districts should be redrawn, legislators will be going around the state to hear what residents have to say. The first of these statewide meetings will be held at 2 p.m. Friday in the Medford Council Chambers, 411 W. Eighth St., Medford. Walker notes that it�s during the public meetings that people can advocate for keeping certain blocks of voters together. "We�ll have our maps and population numbers and people can tell us what they think the district should look like," Walker said. "For example: There�s a group that should be in my district, because they were isolated from their district (because of road patterns.) "We want to look at things like that. What may look logical on a map may not be logical from a street view." Atkinson describes the state as a carnival balloon that can be twisted and turned into shapes like a dog. If you put pressure on one part of the balloon, another part expands. "What we are finding in Southern Oregon is if we were our own state, changes wouldn�t be too drastic, but with our neighbors needing to gain so much and us being landlocked by California we may end up at the end of the balloon," he said. He said it will be at least three or four weeks before legislators will have a good idea of what those new lines will look like. Congressional district lines are not expected to be greatly impacted in Southern Oregon, Atkinson said. The Legislature � using estimates � already has been working on the redistricting for about a month. Each senator has been meeting with the representatives in their districts to discuss boundaries. Those groups then meet with larger groups roughly defined by congressional district lines. The state Constitution requires the Legislature to complete redistricting by July 1 following the year of the census, or the secretary of state must redraw the boundaries. The governor has veto power in either scenario. Atkinson said he is optimistic that this session�s legislature will be able to avoid the partisan fighting that usually occurs in the redistricting process. Even slight movement of lines can switch a district from Democratic to Republican control, or vice-versa. "We really believe the process we�ve set up is a good one," Atkinson said. We believe two things: We can bipartisanly fix 80 percent of the state; and in the democratic spirit of compromise, we can hammer out the rest and get something on the desk of the governor." If Democratic Gov. John Kitzhaber doesn�t sign the redistricting bill passed in the Republican-controlled Legislature, then the job of rewriting the district boundaries will fall to Democratic Secretary of State Bill Bradbury. But Atkinson said he doesn�t expect that to happen. "There�s been tremendous goodwill," he said. The new district lines will go into effect in the 2002 general election. Reach reporter Dani Dodge at 776-4471, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.