Contact:
Bryan Dominique, Public Information Officer, 360-463-3437 or email at bryan.dominique@co.thurston.wa.us

​OLYMPIA – Following a public hearing on Tuesday, July 19, the Thurston County Board of Commissioners (BoCC) passed a resolution in a 3-0 vote to put a ballot measure forward in the general election to ask the voters to increase the number of Thurston County Commissioners from three to five. If the ballot proposition receives majority voter approval, voters will vote incumbents into the two newly created positions during the general election in 2023.

In Thurston County, county commissioners serve a four-year term. If approved by the voters, position 4 will serve for a one-year term and position 5 for a three-year term, initially, to allow for a staggered election cycle. After these initial terms, the new commissioner positions will serve four-year terms.

The effort to expand the BoCC is in coordination with the Port of Olympia. In the fall of 2021, Thurston County and the Port of Olympia signed a joint resolution to put forward ballot measures to expand both governing bodies.

"Following the joint resolution with the Port of Olympia approved in the fall of 2021, this is the next step in the process. This has been a collaborative effort with the Port of Olympia, and it is expected they will take similar action to place a ballot measure during the general election to expand their board from three to five," said County Manager Ramiro Chavez.

The chair of the BoCC, the chair of the Port of Olympia, and the Thurston County Auditor will work together in open and public meetings to create two new commissioner districts. The county will be divided into five commissioner districts in a way each district comprises - as nearly as possible - one-fifth of the population of the county. The BoCC will adopt a resolution creating the districts no later than Monday, March 13, 2023.

You can watch the public hearing and vote on the Thurston County YouTube channel.

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