The recent selection of Yakima’s Sarah Augustine as the chair of the Washington State Redistricting Commission was a good decision, said 14th District Sen. Curtis King, R-Yakima.

The Redistricting Commission is reestablished the year after each U.S. Census to reset the boundaries of Washington’s legislative and congressional districts, using the new census figures. The four voting members of the commission unanimously chose Augustine as its nonvoting chair. She will preside over the commission’s meetings throughout the year.

Augustine is the executive director of the Dispute Resolution Center of Yakima and Kittitas counties.

The four voting members of the commission are April Sims, appointed by the House Democratic Caucus; Brady Walkinshaw, selected by the Senate Democratic Caucus; Paul Graves, the House Republican Caucus appointee; and Joe Fain, chosen by the Senate Republican Caucus.

“I commend the four members of the Redistricting Commission for selecting Sarah Augustine as the commission chair,” said King. “I’ve had a chance to get to know Sarah since she came to Yakima a few years ago. She is respected for her role as a dispute mediator and as the leader of the local Dispute Resolution Center. I’m sure she’ll do an outstanding job of working with the commission members to develop new district maps that will win support not only from the commission itself but ultimately from the Legislature, a year from now.”

During the 2020 legislative session, King sponsored a resolution honoring Resolution Washington and its dispute resolution centers throughout Washington.