Who Represents You? Are You Sure? Yakima Plans To Redistrict Soon

Ever wonder where Yakima sits in the grand scheme of things of American population? According to the World Population Review

With a curent population of 96,968, it is the 13th largest city in Washington and the 364th largest city in the United States . Yakima is currently growing at a rate of 0.09% annually and its population has increased by 3.12% since the most recent census, which recorded a population of 91,067 in 2010.

What Happens Next?

Ok, so we have grown "modestly". What's that mean and why do we care?

From a governmental perspective, we care because we want fairness in Equal Representation on the Yakima City Council.

The City is divided into 7 council districts and each district is supposed to be approximately the same size in terms of population.

When growth occurs in one district more so than in another as demonstrated by the results of the decennial census count, jurisdictions like the City of Yakima will redraw boundary lines to make populations more or less equal once again.

Time For New District Lines

The last census was in 2020 and now the various governmental entities are getting around to checking and moving the lines.

Under the proposed city plan, DISTRICT #7 in Southwest Yakima would be the largest with 14,688 residents while DISTRICT #4 in Southcentral Yakima would be the smallest with 12781 residents.

The Yakima City Council will hold a public meeting at 5:30 pm on Tuesday, April 5^th, for a draft redistricting plan. The meeting will be held via Zoom and in person at Yakima City Hall, 129 N. 2^nd Street.

Check Out The Proposal

A dashboard map showing the proposed City Council district boundaries and population totals is available at Yakima Council District Draft Plan (arcgis.com)

The map provides a form for public comment and input about the proposed boundaries. It is available at Council District Redistricting Comment Form | City Council (yakimawa.gov)

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