The ballot drop box outside the Albany courthouse will be in the 5th District, not the 4th.
Now that the partisan furor over redrawing Oregon’s political boundaries has died down, even if the rancor it engendered has not, it’s about time to report the changes as they affect Albany and the mid-valley. So, let’s take a look at the maps.
Keep in mind that the new maps are still tentative because lawsuits are likely and the courts can order changes before the primary in May 2022.
The maps published by the legislature are kind of rough, lacking details. The details are in the legislation’s long and impenetrable lists of census tracts belonging to each district. But the maps alone give at least some idea. Here’s what they show.
As far as the U.S. House is concerned, most of Albany and all but a sliver of Linn County have been shifted from the 4th District to the 5th.
The 5th District now extends north all the way from the Linn-Lane county line through Marion and Clackamas counties and into the south side of the Portland area. It is one of the four congressional districts that now include parts of the Portland metro area.
North Albany, though, including the part inside the city of Albany, has been moved out of the 5th District into the 4th, where it joins the rest of Benton County. The 4th district also includes all of Lane and Lincoln counties as well as the south coast.
Democrat Peter DeFazio, of Springfield, has held the 4th District seat for 37 years, since 1987. The boundary changes ensure he can keep it until he decides he’s had enough.
What the changes mean for Kurt Schrader, D-5th District, is less clear, at least to me.
As for state legislative districts, the city of Albany including the part in Benton County remains in House District 15. But the district has been shifted northward, losing the part south of Tangent and adding a section of Marion County.
The legislature’s description says the district was drawn to keep Albany, Millersburg and Tangent together, and it includes the Albany address of the incumbent legislator, Republican Rep. Shelly Boshart Davis.
Oregon House District 17 used to include the Lebanon area, Sweet Home and the North Santiam Canyon. It still has the eastern end of the canyon but has lost Lebanon and Sweet Home..
Lebanon and Sweet Home have been moved into House District 11, which extends to the southern Linn County line and no longer includes any part of Lane County. The change affects Rep. Jami Cate, R, whose address on Gore Drive has been moved from District 17 to District 11, represented by Democrat Marty Wilde. He’s from Eugene and can’t file again in the new District 11.
House District 16 remains centered on Corvallis but has lost Philomath. The district has been expanded to the Polk County line and now includes Adair Village. Philomath and the remainder of rural Benton County have been added to House District 10, which is basically on the coast of Lincoln County.
After the 2022 elections, we’ll see how the district boundary changes affect our legislators and the laws they pass. (hh)
The new congressional districts on a map the legislature put online.
A mid-valley excerpt of the House district map the legislature published.
You have to hand it to those crafty Democrats. They have managed to keep Boshart-Davis penned-in where she’s less likely to cause any damage. Of course, that won’t help residents of her district, but isolating Albany-Millersburg is a small price to pay in order to keep the lid on things.