The committee tasked with forming a map for five Deschutes County commissioner seats has advanced a plan to the current county commissioners, which is expected to go before voters in May. In a meeting Nov. 12, the District Mapping Advisory Committee voted 4-3 in favor of advancing Map C. That map splits Bend into three sections: east, west and the southern portion, which also encompasses southern Deschutes County down to La Pine. The two other districts encompass the Sisters area east toward Bend, and the area including and surrounding Redmond. Population figures are balanced within 7.4% — below the 10% range provided as a guideline.
Dissent around the final vote had more to do with timing than the actual map. Three committee members felt that members of the public may have been planning to attend the last scheduled meeting on Nov. 19 to weigh in on the final decision. The other four committee members were in agreement that it would not be productive to hold the final meeting and supported canceling it.
The appointed committee members have been meeting since Aug. 27, holding a series of public meetings around the county. The committee has struggled over how to divvy up the county. The most recent Census numbers are from 2020 and the next Census isn’t until 2030. They relied on population and voter registration numbers without looking at party affiliation, recent building permit trends and race and ethnic population data.
Bend Mayor Melanie Kebler, who was on the committee, wanted party affiliation data used. “We were not able to daylight or consider whether this map could be considered gerrymandering for partisan reasons,” Kebler told the Source. Among the criteria the current county commissioners gave to the committee for drawing the maps was that no district shall be drawn for the purpose of favoring any political party or incumbent elected official or drawn for the purpose of diluting the voting strength of any language or ethnic minority group.
Ned Dempsey, a civil engineer on the committee, said he had concern about the two finalist maps but voted in favor of Map C. “I don’t think there’s any perfect map….I’m in favor of not looking at political parties.”
In 2022, voters decided to make Deschutes County commissioner seats non-partisan.
“This process was at best streamlined and at worst, rushed.” Drew Kaza, co-chair of the Independent Party of Oregon and a member of the committee, said during the Nov. 12 meeting. Kaza was undecided between the final two map choices, B or C, and wanted the final meeting to occur so the public could provide more input. He ultimately voted no on Map C. The difference between maps B and C came down to the placement of six districts.
Former Deschutes County Commissioner Phil Henderson, who voted in favor of Map C and making Nov. 12 the final meeting, said the public will decide if the process was effective. He believes the advisory committee accomplished its goals, he said.
In Nov. 2024, voters approved Measure 9-173 to expand the county commission from three to five members. Four of those seats will be on the ballot in May, with two at large. County staff will present the recommended map at a Board of County Commissioners meeting before the end of the year. The committee also recommended the districts be numbered by random drawing. If approved, Map C will go before voters in May. If voters approve, the map would take effect during the 2028 election and voters would only be able to vote for commissioners within their district.
This article appears in the Source November 20, 2025.
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Why do we need districts? the problem with districts is it creates potential for gerrymandering, even if you use population maps instead of party maps….. In creating districts, commissioners are effectively choosing voters, rather than voters choosing commissioners. Districting subverts one person, one vote.