Deschutes County voters made it clear in the November election that they want five county commissioners and not three: So what should be the structure of the new county commission?

Should commissioners be elected at large?

Should commissioners be elected by district?

Should four commissioners be elected by district and one at large?

Should some commissioners be part-time and some full-time?

Who gets to draw any districts?

As we are sure you know, drawing districts gets politically and legally tricky.

Deschutes County Commissioners discussed these issues on Wednesday. They didn’t make any final decisions. And voters would have a chance to approve or reject any such proposals. The three commissioners did express some support for creating districts.

Before there would be any change in structure, all five commissioners initially would be serving at large. The earliest election with a different commission structure would be in 2028, David Doyle, county counsel, told commissioners.

One of the first choices commissioners would have to make is if they want to put any changes on the ballot themselves. Then there is the question of when to put any choices before voters — November 2025? At an election in 2026? Changes may require a vote on two separate measures if the county wanted to switch to a district system and change some commissioners to part time.

If there were going to be districts, the boundaries would have to be defined when voters vote for the change, Doyle said. Commissioners could take on the task of drawing districts themselves. They could appoint a committee to do it. In either case, the process would be closely watched because how the districts are drawn can shape who gets elected. The concentration of county voters in Bend may make it likely that one district would center on Bend. Maybe other districts would need to include pieces of Bend.

County Commissioner Phil Chang suggested the commission wait to take action until after the next election when the commission will have its new complement of five commissioners. It’s not clear if Commissioners Patti Adair and Tony DeBone would be inclined to wait. The commission seats are officially nonpartisan, but Adair and DeBone can tend to vote more conservatively than Chang. If they wait until more commissioners are seated, their level of influence on the commission would be less certain.

You should tell commissioners what you think. You can email them at board@deschutes.org.