(The Center Square) – Conservative Latino leaders in Washington state are concerned that a federal court could redraw disputed 15th Legislative District boundaries in such a way as to leave Sen. Nikki Torres, R-Pasco, without her seat.
Their fears are based on a ruling last month in Soto Palmer v. Hobbs by U.S. District Court Judge Robert Lasnik that legislative maps drawn in 2021 by the Washington State Redistricting Commission for the Yakima Valley “cracked” – or diluted – the Latino vote.
Lasnik instructed the involved parties to serve notice by Jan. 8 whether a reconvened redistricting commission is able to provide a redrawn map to the state Legislature for adoption by Feb. 7. If not, Lasnik said, the court will adopt a new map for use by Washington’s Secretary of State Office in the 2024 elections.
Majority Democrat legislative leadership and Gov. Jay Inslee have said they will not call a special session of the Legislature to reconvene the state’s bipartisan redistricting committee to redraw the boundaries of the 15th Legislative District in south-central Washington.
At a Thursday afternoon news conference in Grandview, Latino civic leaders in and around the area blasted the effort to redraw the 15th Legislative District’s boundaries as based on racist narratives and an outdated, narrow view of an entire community.
“Not all Latinos fit in a box, and we should be able to have representation that is, you know, able to be flexible,” Grandview Mayor Gloria Mendoza said.
Her assessment was backed up by Mike Gonzalez of the Washington State Commission on Hispanic Affairs.
“The point being, I mean you have a Latina in a Latino district,” Gonzalez said, noting that Torres – the only elected Latina senator in eastern Washington – handily won her seat in November 2022 with more than 67% of the vote in a district that is more than 70% Latino.
“And for her to potentially relinquish that seat, it’s a travesty, it’s an injustice,” he added.
Maia Espinoza, executive director of the Center for Latino Leadership, worries that the notion Torres is the target of an effort to gerrymander her out of office will negatively impact the Latino community in terms of fielding political candidates.
“We know that we have low turnout as it is, but you can imagine that, you know, getting Latinos to actually run for office, to put their families on hold, to put their jobs on hold, to make this public sacrifice in the way that we’re seeing Nikki Torres being torn down, I think, you know, could really have a chilling effect on getting Latinos for run for office,” Espinoza said.
Deanna Martinez, deputy mayor of Moses Lake, was also worried about the long-term impact of the current redistricting controversy.
“It isn’t just about the 15th district,” Martinez said. “It is going to have a rippling effect. So we’re here as Latinos living in central Washington, eastern Washington, who want to be sure that we still have a voice because it sounds like this lawsuit wants to take our conservative voice away.”
Espinoza pointed out the irony of the situation.
“It’s certainly concerning thinking that, you know, this effort, which is supposed to increase or improve Latino representation could ultimately result in unseating this Latina that’s currently elected,” she said.
