Redistricting Commission Proposes Dividing UW renter, BIPOC communities in 11th Hour
SEATTLE— After initially promising to only make minor changes to the District 6 and 7 boundary at their previous meeting, the Seattle Redistricting Commission voted to consider two different amendments to their final draft map plan that split the University of Washington from the neighboring University District.
These amendments come just 6 days before the Commission takes a final vote on map amendments, leaving UW and U-District community members just 6 days to learn about the process and proposed maps, organize, and make public comments. Making such drastic changes so late in the game contradicts previous statements by the Commission, including Commissioner Neelima Shah who opposed any “sweeping changes” to the map “so close to the final deadline” on November 8.
“The University of Washington and University District are a cohesive community. Many UW students live in the U District, and many more interact with U District businesses, residents, and public spaces. We’re a connected renter, majority-BIPOC, student-heavy community that faces many unique challenges, and splitting us hurts our voice.”
The University District is one of just a couple majority-BIPOC neighborhoods in the North End of the city, and Seattle as a whole. Splitting this community raises both equity and legal concerns.
“The City Charter lays out that districts should follow waterways. We achieve this by minimizing the times you split a waterway. The current map already crosses District 6 over the Ship Canal north-to-south. Crossing District 3 over the Cut south-to-north from Capitol Hill to UW annoyingly crosses a waterway a second time, thus is a Charter violation.”
“This is a drastic change right at the tail end of the process that would gerrymander a majority-BIPOC, renter, low-income, youth community in favor of Magnolia—and violate City Charter in the process. Passing this amendment would leave no meaningful opportunity for the UW community to give feedback, and would dilute the voice of young mostly-BIPOC people in our city’s largest school.”
The Redistricting Commission votes on these amendments on Monday, October 31 at 12pm.
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RJS is made up of local, community-based organizations, advocacy groups, community members and non-profits interested in calling for an equitable and transparent Seattle redistricting process. They include Washington Community Alliance, WinWin Network, Fix Democracy First, Asian Counseling & Referral Service, Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle, League of Women Voters Seattle-King County, Asian Pacific Islander Americans for Civic Empowerment,. Washington Bus, Pacific Islander Health Board, Rainier Beach High School community, Planned Parenthood NW, Seattle Chinatown International District Preservation Development Authority (SCIDpda), UW Greek Pride, FEEST Seattle, and Seattle BEST.
