Deschutes County voters showed strong support in last week’s general election for a ballot measure to increase the number of county commissioners from three to five. Discussion from commissioners on Wednesday indicated the potential for more changes on the horizon, including the possibility of splitting the county into representative districts.

That would be a switch from the current at-large model, in which the three commissioners represent and are elected by Deschutes County voters as a whole. If districts are created, some or all of the commissioners would be elected only by voters in certain geographic areas of the county.

Creating districts in Deschutes County would require another ballot measure, one slightly more complicated than simply adding two seats to the commission, said Dave Doyle, legal counsel for the county.

“How you draw those districts could have an impact on who gets elected, and who feels they’re getting a certain level of representation,” Doyle said.

How districts would work

Commissioners on Wednesday expressed support for the idea of creating districts, but how that process might play out remains murky.

It’s certain that commissioners elected in 2026 will be at-large, Doyle said. Because the candidate filing period for that election — when the two new seats and those held by Commissioners Patti Adair and Tony DeBone will be on the ballot — begins two months prior to the 2025 election in November, any ballot measure creating districts wouldn’t kick in until 2028, when Phil Chang and the two additional commissioner seats will be up for election. County staff also advised against a ballot measure in 2025 due to high costs.

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Adair set her sights on sending districts to the ballot in the spring 2026 election.

That would give the commission’s Republican majority oversight of the districting process before any potential shift in power as a result of the expanded commission.

A ballot measure asking voters to create districts would be accompanied by a map specifying district boundaries.

Doyle said county commissioners have the authority to suggest district boundaries unilaterally, but he recommended appointing a committee with people from both sides of the political aisle to draw them.

Chang, a Democrat, suggested they postpone the discussion of redistricting until early 2027 after the two new commissioners are in office.

“Voters have said … a five-member commission is going to make better decisions than this body,” Chang said.

He added, “I support the idea of districting. I think it is a good idea in the long run to ensure representation from every corner of Deschutes County.”

Chang was the lone county commissioner to support adding two commissioners, with Adair and DeBone shooting down a chance to send the measure to the ballot themselves, prompting an effort to gather more than 6,500 signatures to place a citizens’ initiative on the ballot.

Big changes for the county

The measure’s passing marks the second time in three years voters have approved a change to the Deschutes County Commission. Commissioner elections became nonpartisan when 61% of voters approved a 2022 ballot measure to that end. Chang was the first commissioner to be elected under that new structure earlier this year, when he gained a majority of votes among a field of four candidates during a May primary election.

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If an effort to create districts is successful, voters will have approved the three key changes from a 2006 county government restructuring effort that was voted down.

A map from the 2006 proposal shows five districts: two roughly dividing east and west Bend, one covering Redmond and Terrebonne, one covering Sisters and the northwest chunk of the county and another covering south and east portions of the county, including La Pine.

Chang suggested the map could serve as a starting point for drawing districts. Doyle said there’s an option to create five districts or four districts with one at-large seat.

The decision will have to be made on whether the five commissioners will serve full time or part time, Doyle said.

Deschutes County’s population has grown by about 75,000 people since 2006, with about one-third of the growth in Bend, according to Portland State University reports.

Scott Stuart, chair of the Deschutes County Republicans, said he wants to fight tooth and nail against districting, which he views as another step in the “complete takeover” of the county government by Democrats.