The five-person committee charged with redrawing Metropolitan King County Council District boundaries presented the fruit of their labors, a single new draft map, to an overflowing crowd in Seattle yesterday.

The map, which reduces the number of council districts from 13 to nine in accordance with a charter amendment approved by voters in November, was met with mixed reaction.

Several speakers acknowledged that while consensus may be impossible, Proposal X, as the new map was labeled, was an acceptable compromise.

"I think we're getting close to as perfect a map as possible," said Shoreline City Councilwoman Maggie Fimia.

The final proposal did address concerns raised in previous public hearings. Mercer Island now falls in an Eastside district; Auburn and Federal Way share a district; Kirkland and unincorporated areas to the north are included in the same district; and the northern cities of Woodinville, Bothell and Kenmore are grouped together.

But the draft map did not do enough to satisfy concerns of some rural residents, many of whom had backed Republican proposals that would have split the rural areas into three districts. The new map puts them into two districts.

Information Detailed redistricting map: www.metrokc.gov/council/districting/maps.htm

The redistricting process has been fraught with controversy, often pitting Republicans against Democrats, rural residents against urbanites, and sometimes, city against city. The region's smaller cities often complained that Seattle, which has one-third of the county population but spans four districts, would be unfairly over-represented on the County Council.

"There's a lot of folks that are unhappy that we're going to be stuck with this," said Robert Larsen of Carnation. "We believe we are not being represented."

How council members fared The majority of Metropolitan King County Council members remain in the same districts under the redistricting plan unveiled yesterday. However, with four fewer seats, some members will probably be pitted against each other in the fall elections if they choose to run. Under the new plan, Democratic incumbents Bob Ferguson and Larry Gossett could face each other for a council seat, as could Republicans David Irons and Kathryn Lambert. The upcoming departures of Democrat Dwight Pelz and Republican Rob McKenna will benefit Julia Patterson, D-SeaTac, and Jane Hague, R-Kirkland. McKenna was elected state attorney general in November, and Pelz plans to run for a seat on the Seattle City Council. Public meetings Two more public committee meetings on the redistricting plan are scheduled, but no public testimony will be taken. The plan must be finished and filed with the county clerk by Saturday. A last review of public testimony and work on the final redistricting plan is tentatively scheduled for 9 a.m. Wednesday in the Southwest Room, 12th floor, King County Courthouse, 516 Third Ave., Seattle. The committee is scheduled to adopt the plan at a 10 a.m. meeting Saturday in the County Council Chambers, in the courthouse building. The County Council will not vote on or otherwise approve the redistricting.

Speakers yesterday also urged the Districting Committee to try harder to group communities of color together to strengthen their voting power. Several objected to dividing the diverse Beacon Hill area in Seattle into two districts.

"Don't dilute our voice," said James Kelly, president of the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle. "We need to be represented just like other communities are represented."

The five-member panel that created the map faced a difficult task, nonpartisan chairman Steve Ohlenkamp said. Not only were there severe time constraints — the panel had a little over two months to complete the proposal — but each district had to contain roughly 193,000 people, be "compact and contiguous," and reflect political boundaries, school-district boundaries and natural boundaries such as rivers and roads.

"I think we've reached a reasonable balance," Ohlenkamp said. "It's been quite a challenge, but I think we've done a fair job of meeting that challenge."

Adjustments still possible

The committee might still make some minor adjustments to the proposal before it is filed with the county clerk Saturday, Ohlenkamp said.

Districting Committee member Skip Rowley, a Republican, agreed that the proposal might be modified, but declined to offer specifics.

Rowley, echoing the views of a number of speakers at yesterday's hearing, said downsizing the council was a mistake. Regardless of how the final district map looks, he said, "there are going to be people who are going to be underrepresented."

Jessica Blanchard: 206-464-3896