Thurston County voters will decide in November whether to expand the three-member Board of County Commissioners to five members.
After a Tuesday public hearing, the three current commissioners unanimously approved a resolution to put the measure on the general election ballot. If approved, the county will redraw its districts and voters will elect two additional commissioners in 2023.
State law allows non-charter counties, such as Thurston, to ask voters to approve a larger elected board if they have a population between 300,000 and 400,000. On June 30, the Washington state Office of Financial Management released population numbers that showed Thurston County had reached a population of 300,500.
The county expects the Port of Olympia to put a similar measure on the November ballot, to expand the number of Port commissioners from three to five as well. In 2021, both commissions approved a joint resolution to coordinate efforts and align their districts to use the same district maps.
On Tuesday, the board approved a memorandum of understanding with the Port to implement their previous joint resolution by the end of the year. Sam Gibboney, executive director of the Port of Olympia, said this memorandum also includes a cost sharing agreement.
"The port appreciates the collaboration to date and the collaboration yet to come moving forward with Thurston County on this effort," Gibboney said.
Gibboney said the Port will consider the memorandum and its own resolution on the ballot proposition on Monday.
How this will work
The Port and the county plan to form a three-member redistricting committee consisting of the chair of each commission and the county Auditor. The committee meetings will be open to the public and notices will go out ahead of time, said County Manager Ramiro Chavez.
If the Port's proposition does not pass, the resolution says the committee may recommend the Port Commission abstain from approving the newly created districts. If both propositions pass, both commissions would have to separately approve the new districts.
Each district should contain a fifth of the county population and be drawn so that no two current members reside in the same district.
Chavez outlined additional requirements for the districts. He said each must consist of a geographically contiguous area and population data may not be used to favor or disfavor any racial group or political party.
Under state law, the county is required to approve an ordinance establishing the five districts no later than March 13. If the board fails to do this, the resolution says a Thurston County Superior Court judge may appoint a referee to designate the five districts by June 1.
However, Chavez said he plans to bring the ordinance establishing the new districts to the board by Dec. 13. This is necessary, he said, because the Port must approve the districts by the end of the year.
Adding the new members will cost the county about $500,000 a year, Chavez said. This includes the salaries of the two commissioners and their assistants.
"But putting that into perspective of the overall budget, our regular normal budget is about $350 million dollars," Chavez said. "That is just about 0.01% of that."
Voters would pick the two additional commissioners during the 2023 election. To create a staggered election cycle, the Position 4 commissioner would serve a one-year term and the Position 5 commissioner would serve a three-year term.
Following these initial terms, each commissioner would serve a standard four-year term.
Public comment
Port Commissioner Joe Downing thanked the board for its cooperation on the expansions. He said more members on the two commissions would help create continuity in government.
"I've been a commissioner for about six and half years," Downing said. "I've been through two out of the three commissioners being replaced twice in that period of time. Complex institutions like Port district, county government require continuity."
Downing also said larger commissions should help facilitate good discussion and collaboration among members. As it stands now, no two members can get together outside a public meeting because that would constitute a quorum and become an official meeting.
"It's good for a couple of commissioners to get together and talk about an issue and then bring back a more well-thought- out idea when you have your public meeting," Downing said. "You see that happening in all of our cities."
Port Commission Chair Bob Iyall said he believes the expansions would benefit the entire county but added he is concerned about redistricting.
"The district I represent, I want to make sure that all is very amicable for everybody involved there," Iyall said. "So, I will be happy to be part of the team that actually defines that redistricting."
Lacey City Council member Michael Steadman said he could go either way on expanding the county commission. He said it's important the districts are drawn with respect for communities.
"Make sure the districts have at least some kind of connectivity or continuity with their history, if you will, because there's values and beliefs and stuff that each city and county neighborhood has uniquely," Steadman said.
Christina Janis, a Northwest Thurston County resident, said she supports pushing this matter to the ballot and hopes for a positive outcome.
"I think all people need the right to be included and we do have a wide range of voices in this county," Janis said. "I think it's only smart to have five commissioners. We need to be represented in all segments of the county and not just the populous sections."
Tony Wilson, a county resident, said he thinks the cost of adding two county commissioners is reasonable. He added more members will help with representation.
"Thurston County is not what was here 40 years ago," Wilson said. "Having five commissioners will help to look down the road 40 years to what it will be and have representation for all the different demographics that will be here as the county becomes more complex and grows."
County Commissioner comments
Commissioner Tye Menser said he agrees with Downing about larger boards offering more institutional knowledge, continuity and stability. He also quoted a letter from the Thurston County Chamber of Commerce in support of the expansion.
"The number, distribution and density of the county population is changing," Menser said. "Increasing the number of Commissioners and commission districts will provide better and more equal representation for what's rapidly becoming a more diverse set of voters and regional interests."
Menser added, quoting from the letter, that a larger board would allow them to form two member subcommittees. He said this will help the board focus on specific problems, operations and issues.
As the newest county commissioner, Board Chair Carolina Mejia said she would have liked to meet with her colleagues outside public meetings. She said she inherited positions on 19 different boards and committees from other commissioners and often missed key historical context.
"Sometimes you just have to have those conversations and be like, 'Hey, what happened a couple of years ago? Can you give me that information?'" Mejia said.
