The City of Spokane is looking for three people willing to review its council district boundaries and decide whether they need to be adjusted as a result of the 2010 Census.

Think that's you? You have until July 1 to decide. Here's the criteria:

You must:
Be a registered voter.
Be a resident of the city for at least two years.

You can't:
Be a lobbyist now, or any time in the past year.
Campaign for public office, be part of someone else's campaign or contribute to a campaign while on the board
Serve on the City Council or campaign for a council seat for two  years after the plan takes effect.

If the lines are redrawn, they won't matter to this year's campaign. They'll be used in the 2013 city elections.

Board members will be nominated by the mayor and approved by the council. Council President Joe Shogan and a councilmember to be named later will serve in advisory capacity on the board.

And before you ask, no there's no pay involved.
  

Northeast Spokane has an electoral problem that needs to be examined after the 2010 Census is complete. The problem isn’t who gets elected, but how few people do the electing.

Results from this year’s general election follow a pattern evident in council elections since districts were drawn earlier this decade, and in legislative elections for decades before that. Northeast Spokane’s Council District 1, which shares many of the same precincts and voters and the state’s 3rd Legislative District, has significantly fewer voters than the neighboring districts. And the voters it has are less likely to cast ballots than other regions of the city and county.

That was particularly true this year. Although District 1 had a fairly contentious council race between Amber Waldref and Mike Fagan, the district – which is roughly everything north of I-90 and east of Division Street – had eight of the city’s 10 lowest turnout precincts, 17 of the bottom 20. District 1 also has about three registered voters for every four in the other two districts.

While this means that an individual District 1 voter has more impact on picking his or her councilmember, it also means that when grouped together with other voters on citywide issues, the area’s voters as a group have less impact than some in Indian Trails or the South Hill where registration and turnout is much heavier.