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Majority-minority congressional district looking more likely

The four proposals from Washington’s bipartisan redistricting commission have been released.
The four proposals from Washington’s bipartisan redistricting commission have been released.

OLYMPIA, Wash. – There’s new hope among minority groups in Washington that the state could soon have a majority-minority Congressional district. This fresh optimism follows Tuesday’s unveiling of four competing proposals to redraw the state’s political boundaries – and add a tenth Congressional seat.

Three of the four proposals from Washington’s bipartisan redistricting commission call for a majority-minority Congressional seat. While each commissioner proposes to draw the district differently, generally it encompasses the melting pot communities south of Seattle including: Burien, Tukwila, SeaTac and Kent.

Ada Williams Prince is with the group One America. She says a majority-minority district is important because it would link people with common concerns about issues like educational and health disparities.

“It so happens that they are people of color, but the main thing is by providing a people of color majority-minority district it means that they will have their interests actually represented. You’re going to get a representative who understands that community,” she said.

If Washington does end up with a majority-minority district, that could result in one or two other Congressional districts being drawn more Republican. Washington’s redistricting commission now begins the task of reconciling the four proposals into one final set of maps by early November.

Copyright 2011 Northwest News Network

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Since January 2004, Austin Jenkins has been the Olympia-based political reporter for the Northwest News Network. In that position, Austin covers Northwest politics and public policy as well as the Washington State legislature. You can also see Austin on television as host of TVW's (the C–SPAN of Washington State) Emmy-nominated public affairs program "Inside Olympia." Prior to joining the Northwest News Network, Austin worked as a television reporter in Seattle, Portland and Boise. Austin is a graduate of Garfield High School in Seattle and Connecticut College in New London, Connecticut. Austin’s reporting has been recognized with awards from the Association of Capitol Reporters and Editors, Public Radio News Directors Incorporated and the Society of Professional Journalists.