The Seattle Redistricting Commission is currently examining how to redraw the boundaries of Seattle’s seven City Council Districts due to changes in census data and is inviting community members to learn about the process and provide feedback at upcoming public forums. Individual forums are scheduled for each City Council District.

At these meetings, Seattle Redistricting Commissioners will educate community members about the redistricting process and present interactive maps that detail draft boundary changes and how they may impact specific districts. Meetings will be hybrid (available both online and in-person) and members of the public will have the opportunity to ask questions and provide feedback directly to the Commission.

Attend a Public Forum

Participation in upcoming public forums will help to inform the creation of a final map that represents every neighborhood and community fairly for the next decade. This is also an opportunity for communities to provide feedback to the Commission regarding redistricting preferences. Public forums for Pioneer Square will be held as follows:

• District 2 Public Forum: Thursday May 19, 2022 from 5:30pm-7:30pm

Physical Location: El Centro de la Raza, Centilia Cultural Center, 1660 S Roberto Maestas Festival St,

Virtual Link

• District 7 Public Forum: Thursday July 21, 2022 from 5:30pm-7:30pm

Physical Location: TBD

Virtual Link

Register in advance here for the District 2 and 7 public forums. If you are unable to attend a public forum, you can also participate in the process by viewing draft maps and submitting public comment at https://www.seattle.gov/redistricting/how-to-participate. Contact Elsa Batres-Boni at [email protected] or call (206) 256-6198 for more information.

Redistricting Info Session Recap

Last month, the Alliance hosted the Seattle Redistricting Commission for an information session to learn more about this year's City of Seattle redistricting process. The Alliance was joined by staff from the City of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods and a member of the Seattle Redistricting Commission. The Alliance and Pioneer Square community, along with representatives of the Downtown Seattle Association and Seattle Chamber of Commerce discussed how to engage with the Seattle Redistricting Commission throughout the 2022 redistricting process. The full recording of the information session and presentation slides can be found here.

Background on the Process

This year, Seattle will be adjusting the boundary lines of the seven Seattle City Council Districts to ensure that each district represents a similar population. Pioneer Square is currently divided into Council District 2, represented by Tammy Morales (Southeast Seattle, including portions of Chinatown-ID, Rainier Valley, and SODO) and Council District 7, represented by Andrew Lewis (Downtown, Queen Anne, Magnolia). The proposed draft maps provided by the Seattle Redistricting Commission either divide Pioneer Square into three different City Council districts or remove Pioneer Square entirely from being represented alongside adjacent, high density districts such as Downtown, Belltown, and Uptown, facing similar urban challenges. These maps can be viewed here.