Redistricting could weaken county’s voice

While Washington County may lose some representation in the state legislature with the new redistricting maps that were recently approved, whether the county, which lost more than 5% of its population in the past 10 years, will have less of a voice in Augusta is not yet clear.
The Senate district that covers the county will be adding in more Hancock County towns, and the number of House districts that primarily cover only towns in Washington County will be reduced from four to three. Other changes include the moving of Eastport from a coastal district that includes Lubec and Machias to a district that covers Calais and Baileyville, while Machias will be included in a new district to the west stretching to Addison. The new districts will be in effect for the county, state and federal elections being held next year.
While the state's population increased by 2.6%, the increases were mostly in southern Maine, with decreases in the rim counties, including Washington County. The county lost 1,760 residents, according to the 2020 census, with the number of residents dropping from 32,856 in 2010 to 31,095 in 2020.

'A big blue blob'
The loss of representation because of the declining population could have some effect on the county's voice in Augusta, but Rep. Anne Perry of Calais notes that the county "can be heard. Our representatives work together for the needs of Washington County. That's given us a strong voice, and I think that will remain as we move forward."
However, Rep. Will Tuell of East Machias points out that the new Senate district is "massive." He notes that on the maps it is "a big blue blob running from just outside Ellsworth to Calais up to Danforth. That is simply too large a district to effectively cover. It's too spread out, it's a lot of small towns, and there are a lot of different regions within it."
Referencing his bill to split the current prosecutorial district in two, with a separate district attorney (DA) for Washington County, which has become stalled in the legislature, he comments, "I do worry very much that Washington County will lose its voice in Augusta, that, just like with the DA bill, we will be drowned out, especially if demographics continue to shift, and Ellsworth or some of the more populated Hancock County towns get smooshed into that blob 10 years from now. I think everyone will try to cover the region, but really it's going to be a lot less personal, a lot more remote and harder for anyone representing that Senate district over the next 10 years." Also, he notes that campaigning in a district that size will be difficult and costly. "So I'm not a fan of the Senate district, even though I understand the demographics -- the change in population -- led to this, and I believe the legislature had no other choice other than pass it or risk even more upheaval in the courts."
But while more Hancock County towns are in the Senate district, Rep. Perry notes that those communities are rural and close to Washington County and have more in common with their neighbors to the east. "They are an allied district, in terms of needs and issues," she says.
And the current District 6 senator, Marianne Moore of Calais, comments, "I truly feel this will not in any way diminish our voice in Augusta, especially since I am running for reelection and have worked with a number of these towns" while she has been on the boards of organizations that have a presence in those towns.
As for the House districts, Rep. Tuell says he is "very satisfied with the outcome from a geo/political standpoint. I think the maps took into account the different regions of our county, districts are more connected than they were, and really make a lot of sense." Of some specific changes, he notes, "As much as I enjoyed representing Eastport these eight years, it makes a ton more sense for it to be in with Calais and Baileyville. As much as I would have liked to keep Machias in with the rest of the surrounding towns, I can see why it was moved to the other district. Being in the middle means you could go either way. Besides, there is historical precedent for putting Machias and East Machias in different districts."
Tuell continues, "All in all, I am happy with the House maps, not so much with the rural Senate, but understanding of the situation we were all in. Voting no was not a chance I wanted to take."
Rep. Perry notes that when Eastport was previously placed in the current District 140 with Machias and Lubec, there was no "real connection" among the communities. "It was contiguous by water but not by land." Now, Eastport is in a district with Calais and Baileyville that is joined by land.
With the House districts, Senator Moore says she was disappointed "in the loss of contiguous towns and the way a number of the districts were majorly restructured," including District 141 that is currently represented by Rep. Kathy Javner of Chester. Noting that there will now be six districts with at least some Washington County towns and pointing to some of the changes in the new House maps, she comments, "This new redistricting will definitely take some getting used to!"

Reapportionment in record time
Redistricting is completed every 10 years based on the latest U.S. Census figures. The Maine Legislature's Apportionment Commission drew the new maps for the state's two congressional districts, Maine House and Senate districts and county commissioner districts, which were approved by the House and Senate on September 29.
Rep. Perry, who was a member of the apportionment commission, says the greatest issue that the commission faced was the "very shortened process. Usually it's from January to June," but this time all of the work had to be done in 45 days, since census data was not available until mid-August, with delays caused by the pandemic. That work included looking at population numbers, maps and redistricting criteria. The criteria include that districts must be of equal population, compact and contiguous. Also, reapportionment should avoid displacing voters from their historical districts or making districts too large, should keep communities of interest together and avoid splitting municipalities.
Each party came up with their own district maps and then negotiated. "It was phenomenal to get it down in 45 days," says Rep. Perry. While there was not as much public input as the commission would have liked, there was some, and a few changes were made based on that input. "The negotiating went much better than I feared it would go," she says, with little bickering between the parties and a lack of any gerrymandering of the districts.
While people don't like changing the districts in which they are located, Rep. Perry notes that if one district is changed, then all of the districts around it have to change, too.

New districts outlined
Senate districts have to be within 5% of the average district population of about 38,900. The current Maine Senate District 6 will become District 4 and, along with covering all of Washington County and the Hancock County towns of Gouldsboro, Sullivan and Winter Harbor, will add 10 more Hancock County towns -- Amherst, Aurora, Eastbrook, Franklin, Great Pond, Hancock, Mariaville, Osborn, Sorrento and Waltham. A number of unorganized territories are also included.
The average House district population will now be just over 9,000. Many of the municipalities in the current House District 138, which covers western Washington County along the coast and is currently represented by Robert Alley of Beals, will become part of the new House District 11, which includes Addison, Beals, Columbia, Columbia Falls, Harrington, Jonesboro, Jonesport, Machias, Milbridge, Roque Bluffs and Whitneyville, along with some unorganized territories. Cherryfield will become part of House District 12, which includes Steuben and five Hancock County towns.
The present House District 139, which extends along the coast from Eastport to Machiasport and Roque Bluffs, with Will Tuell as the current representative, is partly the basis for the new House District 10. Eastport will now be in District 9, and Machias will be in District 11, while Alexander, Charlotte, Cooper, Crawford, Dennysville, Marshfield, Northfield, Pembroke, Princeton and Wesley will be added in to District 10. Other towns in the district are Cutler, East Machias, Lubec, Machiasport and Whiting, along with some unorganized territories.
Both Rep. Alley and Rep. Tuell will not be running for reelection next year, because of term limits.
The current House District 140, which includes Baileyville and Calais and is currently represented by Anne Perry of Calais, will become House District 9 and will add Eastport, Meddybemps and Grand Lake Stream. Other towns in the district are Baring, Indian Township, Pleasant Point, Perry and Robbinston. Rep. Perry notes that there's an agreement that the two Passamaquoddy reservations will remain in the same district. The Passamaquoddy representative in the House, currently Rep. Rena Newell of Sipayik, represents the tribe as a non-voting member who can sponsor and co-sponsor legislation.
The Washington County towns of Codyville, Danforth, Talmadge, Topsfield, Vanceboro and Waite, which are currently in House District 141 that extends down to Dennysville and is represented by Kathy Javner of Chester, will become part of House District 8 that includes a number of Aroostook and Penobscot county municipalities. Other municipalities in the current House District 141 will be part of other districts.
None of the county commissioner districts in Washington County changed.