How Map C Began
Critics say the committee was rigged from the start. That the fix was in before anyone drew a line. The facts from the very first meeting tell a different story.
What Was at Stake
In November 2024, Deschutes County voters passed ballot measure 9-173 to expand the Board of County Commissioners from three members to five. Two years earlier, measure 9-148 had made those seats non-partisan. The county now needed a map dividing Deschutes into five districts.
Under the current at-large system, Bend holds roughly half the county’s population. That means Bend voters have the numbers to decide every single commissioner seat. Residents in Redmond, Sisters, La Pine, and south county get outvoted every time. Districts would change that. Each area would elect its own commissioner — someone who lives there and answers to that community.
The Board of Commissioners appointed a District Mapping Advisory Committee to draw the map. Critics immediately called the process a “rigged committee” designed to deliver a predetermined result. They said it was rushed. They said the outcome was decided before the first gavel.
Here is what actually happened on August 27, 2025.
Who Was in the Room
The committee brought together people from across the county, across party lines, and across decades of Central Oregon life.
Neil Bryant chaired the committee as a non-voting facilitator. He has lived in Bend since 1973. He previously worked as a lawyer and served as an Oregon State Senator. Ned Dempsey is an engineer who has been living in the area since 1971. Drew Kaza owns the Sisters Movie House and has been involved in the Oregon Independent Party since 2008, currently serving as co-chair. He was also one of the primary advocates for the ballot measure that made county commissioner elections non-partisan. Melanie Kebler was born and raised in Bend and is a member of the Democratic Party. Carol Loesche has been deeply involved in the League of Women Voters. Bernie Brader has lived in La Pine for 21 years and is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force. Phil Henderson is a former Deschutes County Commissioner.
Democrats, Republicans, Independents, and non-affiliated voters — all at the same table.
A Strange Way to Rig a Process
Each of the three sitting commissioners picked appointees. Commissioner Adair chose two. Commissioner DeBone chose two. Commissioner Chang chose three — more than anyone else.
Commissioner Chang later voted against the final map.
Think about that. If this committee was rigged, the commissioner who opposed the result had the most appointments on the board. That is not how you fix an outcome. That is how a fair appointment process works.
What Happened
Before anyone touched a map, the committee built the rules. County Legal Counsel Dave Doyle explained that the DMAC is a governing body under Oregon’s open-meetings statute. That meant proper public notice for every meeting. Livestreaming. Official minutes. No discussions outside public sessions.
The committee adopted Robert’s Rules of Order. Chair Bryant reminded everyone that the DMAC “will not be gerrymandering maps.”
The guidelines were specific. Districts must stay within 5% population variance. No district shall be drawn for the purpose of favoring any political party. No district shall be drawn for the purpose of diluting the voting strength of any language or ethnic minority group. Geography and community come first.
Meetings were scheduled for Wednesdays from 1 to 3 p.m., beginning September 10, and would rotate through locations across the county — Bend, Sisters, Redmond, and La Pine. Not one city. Every part of the county.
Even at this first meeting, members raised hard questions. Kebler asked whether the committee had the ability to draw a map other than five districts. Dempsey stated that one interpretation could be a map with four distinct districts, with the fifth district covering the entire county. Henderson noted that other counties in the state with at-large seats are “Home Rule” counties — a different legal structure. County staff clarified that the Board of Commissioners had already reviewed the question and intended for the committee to draft a map of five commissioner districts.
The debate was real. It was public. It was on the record. And nobody shut it down.
What This Means
A rigged process does not start by putting three of seven voting members in the hands of a commissioner who opposes the outcome. A rushed process does not schedule twelve public meetings across four communities over three months. A secret process does not operate under Oregon’s open-meetings law with livestreams, posted minutes, and legal counsel in the room.
The committee that drew Map C started with rules designed to make rigging impossible. Every meeting, every vote, and every map adjustment that followed can be traced in the public record.
The question for voters is simple. Under at-large elections, Bend picks all five commissioners. Under districts, Sisters, Redmond, La Pine, and south county each get their own voice. That is what this map is about.