Myths vs. Facts

Map C's districts are compact, contiguous, and follow existing precinct lines — the opposite of gerrymandering. Maps B and C share 44 of 50 precincts in identical positions; the only differences involve five precincts along the Bend/Redmond boundary. The committee's official guidelines explicitly prohibited drawing districts to favor any political party.

Princeton's gerrymandering analysis tools are designed for partisan legislative redistricting with dozens of seats — not for a five-district county commission with nonpartisan elections. Applying them here is a misuse of the methodology.

Sources: Meeting 10 Minutes (Maps B & C identical on 44/50 precincts) · DMAC Guidelines (contiguity, precinct lines, partisan prohibition) · Meeting 12 Packet (County Legal Counsel memo citing ORS 188.010)

County commissioner elections are nonpartisan — voters approved that in 2022 with Measure 9-148 (61% support). No party label appears on the ballot. Nearly 40% of Deschutes County voters are non-affiliated, and non-affiliated voters are the plurality in four of five districts.

When a DMAC member moved to incorporate partisan voter registration data into map-drawing, the motion failed 4–3. The committee majority rejected the use of partisan data. County Legal Counsel's memo cites ORS 188.010, which prohibits drawing districts to favor any political party.

Sources: Meeting 1 Minutes (Measure 9-148) · Meeting 2 Minutes (40% non-affiliated) · Meeting 11 Minutes (partisan data motion failed 4–3) · Meeting 12 Packet (Legal Counsel memo, ORS 188.010)

At-large elections let Bend's 47% of registered voters control 100% of commissioner seats. That means communities like La Pine, Redmond, Sisters, and Terrebonne have no guaranteed representation on the board that controls their roads, water, wildfire services, and land use decisions.

Geographic districts give each community proportional representation. Bend gets 2 of 5 seats — fair for its population — while rural communities get their own voice. Five other Oregon counties (Jackson, Josephine, Lane, Clackamas, and Washington) already use geographic commissioner districts.

Sources: Meeting 11 Minutes (if measure fails, all five seats remain at large) · Meeting 3 Minutes (motion for 4 districts + 1 at-large failed 4–3) · Meeting 1 Minutes (Home Rule counties discussion)

Measure 9-173 (2024) expanded the commission from 3 to 5 members. It was silent on the question of districts — it neither required nor prohibited them. Oregon law (ORS 203.148) authorizes the Board of County Commissioners to establish geographic districts for commissioner elections.

And here's the key: voters get the final say. The district map will be on the November 3, 2026 ballot. If voters don't want it, they'll vote no. That's democracy — not a backroom deal.

Sources: DMAC Guidelines (Measure 9-173 expanded BOCC) · Meeting 11 Minutes (Board may accept, modify, or refer to ballot) · Listening Session Packet (March 31, 2025 BOCC vote to develop districts)

The DMAC held 12 public meetings over 3 months (August–November 2025), with sessions rotating through Bend, Sisters, Redmond, and La Pine so every part of the county could participate. Every meeting was publicly noticed, livestreamed, and video recorded under Oregon's open meeting laws.

The committee held a dedicated community listening session lasting 105 minutes where residents could speak directly to the committee. All meeting materials, maps, and data were posted to the county website.

Sources: Meeting 1 Minutes (meetings scheduled in Sisters, Redmond, La Pine) · Meeting 5 Minutes (listening session motion passed unanimously) · Meeting 2 Packet (ORS 192.610–192.620 open meetings compliance) · Listening Session Minutes (Oct. 16, 2025)

All three county commissioners each appointed members to the DMAC. Commissioner Chang — the most vocal opponent of districting — appointed the most members. The committee included community leaders from across the county: a La Pine Air Force veteran, a sixth-generation Sisters farmer, a Redmond business owner, the Bend mayor, a former League of Women Voters president, and others.

Two members were non-affiliated voters. All meetings were conducted under Oregon's open meetings law with public notice, livestreaming, and recorded video available on the county website.

Sources: DMAC Guidelines (Adair 2, DeBone 2, Chang 3 appointees) · Meeting 1 Minutes (member introductions, League of Women Voters, open meetings law) · Meeting 2 Minutes (Loesche and Bryant non-affiliated) · Listening Session Minutes (Cyrus: sixth-generation Oregonian)

The new five-member board won't be seated until January 2027. Waiting would lock in at-large elections for the first full term of the expanded commission — letting Bend's voting majority potentially control all five seats from the start.

And remember: voters decide. The map is going on the ballot. If voters approve it, it takes effect. If they reject it, at-large elections continue. Either way, it's the voters' choice — not the commissioners'.

Sources: DMAC Guidelines (two new positions begin January 2027) · Meeting 10 Minutes (if approved, changes take effect January 2028) · Meeting 11 Minutes (if measure fails, all seats remain at large)

The committee used both the 2020 Census data (the most recent federal count available) and August 2025 voter registration data. The committee also reviewed building permit data to account for recent growth patterns.

The next federal census isn't until 2031. Waiting for "better data" means waiting six more years — during which at-large elections would continue and rural communities would remain without guaranteed representation. Every redistricting process in America uses the most recent available census.

Sources: Meeting 7 Minutes (motion to use Aug. 2025 voter registration, carried 4–3) · DMAC Guidelines (2020 Census; next count not until 2031) · Meeting 10 Minutes (building permit data reviewed, motion approved 6–1)

The "Missoula model" requires commissioners to live in different areas but still lets all voters county-wide vote on every seat. That means Bend's voting majority could still control every commissioner — the residency requirement changes where they sleep, not who elects them.

The DMAC considered hybrid models and rejected them. No Oregon county uses a hybrid model. The five Oregon counties with commissioner districts all use geographic districts where voters elect their own representative — the same approach Map C takes.

Sources: Meeting 5 Minutes (Board majority did not support Missoula model) · Meeting 6 Packet (Phil Chang recommended Missoula model) · Meeting 3 Minutes (4 districts + 1 at-large motion failed 4–3)

Litigation threats are standard for virtually every redistricting process in America. If the threat of a lawsuit were enough to stop a map, no district would ever be drawn anywhere. Opponents use this as a scare tactic to convince voters that the process is too risky.

The committee followed its adopted guidelines, consulted County Legal Counsel, held 12 public meetings across four cities, and the final map goes before voters for approval. A voter-approved map carries strong democratic legitimacy in any legal challenge.

Sources: Meeting 12 Packet (County Legal Counsel memo: not mandated to review partisan data; ORS 188.010) · DMAC Guidelines · Meeting 1 Minutes (County Legal Counsel confirmed DMAC is governing body under open-meetings statute)