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Deschutes County advisory committee backs five‑district map amid protests and math dispute
Summary
A citizen advisory committee recommended "Map C" for five commissioner districts and proposed numbering districts by a random draw; committee members and public commenters raised sharply divergent views about using registered‑voter counts vs. total population and whether the plan dilutes representation for growing Bend neighborhoods. The board received the recommendation and will schedule a public hearing.
The Deschutes County District Mapping Advisory Committee recommended a five‑district map ("Map C") and asked the Board of County Commissioners to place the proposal before voters with district numbers determined by a random draw.
The recommendation, presented Dec. 3, followed 10 committee meetings, a public listening session and review of census, voter‑registration and building‑permit data. Neil Bryant, the committee’s facilitator, described the process and the datasets the group used to balance precincts across five districts.
"You can't draw a perfect map and you do the best job you can," Bryant told the board, describing tradeoffs the group faced as it balanced population, precinct lines and communities of…
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