The Snohomish County Council has appointed four members to serve on a committee to redraw council district boundaries.

District boundary lines are adjusted every ten years after census data is received from the state to equalize population among the districts.

The Districting Committee will consist of five members: two representatives of each of the major political parties in the county, and a fifth member selected jointly by the other four who will serve as the chair.

The parties each submitted five names to the County Council for consideration, and the two representatives were selected following interviews with the council members. Robert Chapman and Gregg Pratt of Snohomish will represent the Democratic Party, and Larry Stickney of Arlington and Jim Donner of Stanwood will represent the Republican Party.

"Drawing the district lines is a very important activity that ensures all residents receive equal representation regardless of where they live in Snohomish County" said Council Chair Dave Somers. "I appreciate these citizens volunteering their time to assist with this endeavor that will shape the county for the next decade."

The committee will hold its first meeting later this month to select the fifth member and to choose a districting master to provide the geographic and demographic expertise required to draw the boundaries.

All meetings of the county.council@co.snohomish.wa.us www.snoco.org committee are open to the public and will be available for viewing on the Councils Granicus system. Links to the meetings and other relevant documents may be found on the County Auditor's webpage at http://www1.co.snohomish.wa.us/Departments/Auditor/ .

The committee will hold a public hearing on the recommended plan later this year before submitting it to the County Council for adoption.