The Board of County Commissioners on Thursday, Jan. 6, approved an ordinance to adopt the Multnomah County Commission Redistricting Plan, created by the Multnomah County Auditor in response to the 2020 Census.
The first reading of County Auditor Jennifer McGuirk’s redistricting plan for commissioner districts took place at the Dec. 16, 2021 board meeting. Redistricting must be completed by the Auditor every 10 years following a U.S. Census count, and is redrawn any time the population of one district is greater than 103% of the population of any other district.
According to the 2020 Census, the population of District 1 grew to become almost 9% larger than the smallest district, District 3. District 2 was also 3% larger than District 3, requiring the Auditor to increase the sizes of Districts 3 and 4.
The Auditor’s office used communication via social media as well as a draft map that allowed for feedback from the community. The proposed redistricting map left the largest of the districts, District 3, less than 1% larger than the smallest proposed district, District 1.
The redistricting plan is set to take effect Feb. 5, 2022, 30 days after approval.
“I want to again thank the Auditor and her team for preparing this redistricting plan,” Chair Deborah Kafoury said during Thursday’s meeting “They've taken the delays from the Census Bureau and pandemic-related hurdles to community engagement in stride, and they're delivering a very important part of the work directed by the Multnomah County Charter.”
View new districts here.