City Council ward boundaries to be revised
Two scenarios bode well for JWN.
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Jefferson Westside Neighbors
This Fall, City Council will redraw the existing eight city ward boundaries that are used to
elect local City Councilors and Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) members. The
goal is to have final boundaries established in the fall of 2011 and no later than December
31, 2011.
Every 10 years, City Council adjusts ward boundaries to accommodate population
changes and shifts. The purpose of ward redistricting is to make sure each ward has
about the same number of people. This helps ensure community members are
represented equally on the City Council and by EWEB. Based on the 2010 U.S. Census
data, Eugene’s population totaled 156,222, which means that each of the eight wards
should have approximately 19,528 residents.
In the JWN, both Ward 1 (represented by George Brown) and Ward 7 (represented by
Andrea Oritiz) must be enlarged to contain the appropriate number of residents.
Through a series of public efforts and City Council work sessions, the City has narrowed
the likely choices to two draft scenarios: View Scenarios 1C. and 1E. Both scenarios
include all of the JWN in Ward 1, which would be a beneficial improvement to the current
situation where a small area of the JWN is split off into Ward 7.
JWN representatives have worked actively with City staff and Councilor George Brown over
the past to ensure the JWN no longer was split between wards. (Read more about where
things started below.)
At the end of their upcoming October 10 meeting, Council will review ward redistricting
scenarios and have the opportunity to select a preferred scenario. The council tentatively
is scheduled to take action on October 26 to adopt new ward boundaries. This is a
regular council meeting, which will begin with a public forum at 7:30 PM in the Council
Chambers of City Hall at 777 Pearl Street. A webcast of the session will be available at
www.eugene-or.gov/ccwebcast.
You can learn more about ward redistricting in Eugene at:
www.eugene-or.gov/redistricting
If you have questions, please contact the JWN Chair.
As background, here's where things started a few months ago ...
Staff has created two scenarios that City Council is considering. One of the proposed
"scenarios" would have Ward 1 encompass the entire JWN, rather than the current split
between Ward 1 and Ward 7. This was the recommendation from the JWN Chair to the
staff working on redistricting. View map. According to staff, this scenario also has the
advantage of changing fewer residents' respective wards than the alternative (below) and
has smaller variation in ward populations than the alternative.
Unfortunately, the other scenario under consideration would further exacerbate the
problem of splitting the JWN by moving more of the JWN into Ward 7 and bringing in a
large area of the university district, which has never been part of the "Westside" or
"Jefferson" neighborhood communities. View map.
Splitting the JWN significantly diminishes the political voice for those residents who live in
the small section of the JWN that's within Ward 7. Moving another section of the JWN to
Ward 7 and essentially replacing it with an area that's not connected with the "Westside"
or "Jefferson" neighborhood communities makes the problem worse for both the
university neighborhood and the JWN.
When a neighborhood community is fragmented among multiple wards, community
members have fewer votes in the respective wards, and thus the community's collective
power is diluted. This is especially true for residents in the JWN that are, or would be, in
Ward 7 because Ward 7 is a sprawling ward that includes parts of five or more
neighborhood communities.
At their July 25 work session, most councilors seemed to favor Scenario 1 or some
variation of it. Read the council work session minutes.
If you'd like to weigh in, you can respond to a survey posted on the City redistricting
website. (www.eugene-or.gov/redistricting)
Keep in mind that "Scenario 1" benefits JWN residents by encompassing all of them in
Ward 1; whereas "Scenario 1" worsens the current problem by shifting additional JWN
residents to Ward 7.
elect local City Councilors and Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) members. The
goal is to have final boundaries established in the fall of 2011 and no later than December
31, 2011.
Every 10 years, City Council adjusts ward boundaries to accommodate population
changes and shifts. The purpose of ward redistricting is to make sure each ward has
about the same number of people. This helps ensure community members are
represented equally on the City Council and by EWEB. Based on the 2010 U.S. Census
data, Eugene’s population totaled 156,222, which means that each of the eight wards
should have approximately 19,528 residents.
In the JWN, both Ward 1 (represented by George Brown) and Ward 7 (represented by
Andrea Oritiz) must be enlarged to contain the appropriate number of residents.
Through a series of public efforts and City Council work sessions, the City has narrowed
the likely choices to two draft scenarios: View Scenarios 1C. and 1E. Both scenarios
include all of the JWN in Ward 1, which would be a beneficial improvement to the current
situation where a small area of the JWN is split off into Ward 7.
JWN representatives have worked actively with City staff and Councilor George Brown over
the past to ensure the JWN no longer was split between wards. (Read more about where
things started below.)
At the end of their upcoming October 10 meeting, Council will review ward redistricting
scenarios and have the opportunity to select a preferred scenario. The council tentatively
is scheduled to take action on October 26 to adopt new ward boundaries. This is a
regular council meeting, which will begin with a public forum at 7:30 PM in the Council
Chambers of City Hall at 777 Pearl Street. A webcast of the session will be available at
www.eugene-or.gov/ccwebcast.
You can learn more about ward redistricting in Eugene at:
www.eugene-or.gov/redistricting
If you have questions, please contact the JWN Chair.
As background, here's where things started a few months ago ...
Staff has created two scenarios that City Council is considering. One of the proposed
"scenarios" would have Ward 1 encompass the entire JWN, rather than the current split
between Ward 1 and Ward 7. This was the recommendation from the JWN Chair to the
staff working on redistricting. View map. According to staff, this scenario also has the
advantage of changing fewer residents' respective wards than the alternative (below) and
has smaller variation in ward populations than the alternative.
Unfortunately, the other scenario under consideration would further exacerbate the
problem of splitting the JWN by moving more of the JWN into Ward 7 and bringing in a
large area of the university district, which has never been part of the "Westside" or
"Jefferson" neighborhood communities. View map.
Splitting the JWN significantly diminishes the political voice for those residents who live in
the small section of the JWN that's within Ward 7. Moving another section of the JWN to
Ward 7 and essentially replacing it with an area that's not connected with the "Westside"
or "Jefferson" neighborhood communities makes the problem worse for both the
university neighborhood and the JWN.
When a neighborhood community is fragmented among multiple wards, community
members have fewer votes in the respective wards, and thus the community's collective
power is diluted. This is especially true for residents in the JWN that are, or would be, in
Ward 7 because Ward 7 is a sprawling ward that includes parts of five or more
neighborhood communities.
At their July 25 work session, most councilors seemed to favor Scenario 1 or some
variation of it. Read the council work session minutes.
If you'd like to weigh in, you can respond to a survey posted on the City redistricting
website. (www.eugene-or.gov/redistricting)
Keep in mind that "Scenario 1" benefits JWN residents by encompassing all of them in
Ward 1; whereas "Scenario 1" worsens the current problem by shifting additional JWN
residents to Ward 7.
FLASH! City Council approves Ward 1 that includes ALL of JWN!