1. Protect Your Voice - Measure 1 takes away your right to vote for 7 council members — cutting it to just 3. Every resident deserves a voice in every decision-maker. (See More Info #1 below)

2. Keep Council Accountable - At-large elections ensure every member answers to all citizens 

3. Districts are unnecessary - 4 out of 5 proposed districts are already represented on City Council, and this changes every election. Also, the proposed districts do not reflect unique communities, they are simply an odd boundary of unaffiliated people. (See More Info #2 & #3 below)

4. Citizens would not be better represented by districts - This is a deceptive message to get people to give up the majority of their voting rights. Being represented by only a minority of city council means your district priorities will not be a priority for the majority of the city council.  (See More Info #4 below)

5. This initiative is led by left leaning political activists who have lost in Richland elections with at-large voting - They have gerrymandered boundaries to help themselves in future elections.  (See More Info #5 below)

6. Merit over Address - Council seats should be won by ability, not by home address. 

7. Efficiency & Teamwork over Divisiveness - With at-large elections, council members work as one team for the entire city. Districts encourage infighting, gridlock, and wasted resources.

8. Avoid Wasteful Spending - Districts encourage pet projects for one area at the expense of all taxpayers.

9. Follow Strong Cities - Successful Washington cities like Bellevue and Kirkland use at-large voting.

10. Keep Richland One Community - Artificial lines tear us apart. Richland should stay one city, one community. 

📌 1. The Number of Districts Should Never Outnumber At-Large Positions 

• Loss of Majority Representation: Each resident would only vote for 3 of 7 council members, meaning a majority (4) have no electoral accountability to them, even though they’ll still be making decisions that affect everyone's taxes, streets, and quality of life. 

• Your Concerns May Be Ignored: If your issues don’t align with your district rep—or if they're in the minority—you may have little recourse with the rest of the council. 

• Risk of Gridlock: Competing local interests can overshadow collaboration and delay citywide progress since a ward-heavy system encourages councilmembers to prioritize their district over citywide needs. 

• Weakened Voter Influence: Most of the council would be elected by other districts, diluting your vote's weight in shaping city leadership. 

📌 2. Districts are unnecessary - we already have representation accross the city 

• 4 of the 5 proposed wards already have sitting council members- This usually changes with each election.  Link to Map

• Merit Over Address: Council members should be chosen for how well they represent the whole city, not where they live.

📌 3. DESIGN AND LOGICAL FLAWS IN THIS Wards PROPOSAL

• Proposed Wards Are Small and Oddly Shaped - this kind of fragmentation with too many small wards can lead to a fractured council, and inability to come to consensus on important issues. 

• 5  is a lot: Many people believe that breaking Richland into 5 wards is really too much fragmentation for Richland. 

• The proposed districts do not reflect unique communities: they are simply an odd boundary of unaffiliated people.

• City Growth: Richland is expanding southward—current ward proposals do not reflect future population growth patterns.

• Disproportionate Influence: A small number of voters could gain outsized power in low-turnout elections, and it can be difficult to remove an unpopular candidate.  

• Narrow Focus: Members may overly fixate on their district and neglect citywide needs, advocating for pet projects that can cause divisiveness. 

• This districts proposal is more restrictive than Kennewick and Pasco. 

  1. Kennewick has 3, with a majority of at-large positions. Kennewick also allows all city residents a general election vote on their ward elected officials. This proposed initiative is limiting ward position votes to only voters within their ward boundaries.  

  2. Pasco allows all citizens to vote on all positions the general election. 

📌 4. CITIZENs WOULD NOT BE Better represented by ditricts

• This is a deceptive message to get people to give up the majority of their voting rights. Being represented by only a minority of city council means your district priorities will not be a priority for the majority of the city council. 

• Richland City Council and the City of Richland already allocate the majority of resources to Central and North Richland, where safety concerns and infrastructure updates are needed the most. This includes increased police presence, enhanced safety measures, new stop signs, and improved crosswalks. Many additional projects are also currently underway. If you have comments or concerns about the activities of the City of Richland, please consider utilizing the contact information above to express your concerns (Under MISLEADING TALING POINTS #2.)

City of Richland Current & Completed Projects

📌 5. Partisan Influence Behind the Ward Campaign

• ActBlue Connection: "A Better Richland" uses ActBlue, a well-known progressive Democratic fundraising platform.
  Link to 1 of many Campaign Finance Reports from 2023-2025

• Political Motivation: Several ward advocates—Ginger Wireman, Randy Slovic, Shir Regev—have previously been unsuccessful at running in local elections.

• Potential Gerrymandering: The shape of the North Richland wards are suspect, with odd shapes and a high percentage of Democratic voters.
  
  If someone tells you they want wards because they do not feel their interests are being represented, perhaps ask the question: Is this really just because of dissatisfaction over who is winning in local elections? 

📌 6. Reverting From Wards Happens—And For Good Reason

• Kelso Example: Voters in Kelso adopted wards in 2006 and voted them out in 2016 to simplify governance.
  2016 Measure PDF
  Current Kelso Charter

• There are plenty of other searchable examples for wards returning to at large voting structures but returning is difficult because it does leave the city vulnerable to litigation from people who want to make the claim they are part of a group that is under represented. Going to wards can be an unfortunate one way street.

📌 7. Richland Was Founded With At-Large Representation in Mind

• Historical Vision: The 1957 charter by Richland’s Freeholders outlined reasons for not recommending separate wards. Link

  • City-Wide Focus: At-large elections encourage council members to prioritize the whole city's interests, avoiding localized biases.

  • No Redistricting Fights: Avoiding districts eliminates the need for redistricting, which can be complex and add more divisiveness. This inevitably has to happen as cities grow and is a heavy burden for taxpayers. 

  • More Representation: Every council member is elected by the voters of the entire city, ensuring that each voter is represented by every member of the council.

  • Efficiency: At-large elections permit the council to be small, resulting in more efficient conduct of business.

  • Size-Practicality: Given Richland's small size, council candidates can easily be known to all voters, and it should be relatively easy for each council member to become aware of the city's problems as a whole and represent all sections adequately.

• Rejected Before: Richland voters Voted NO on Proposed ward ballot measures in 1960 (Ordinance No. 106) and in 1971 (Resolution No. 718).

Link to 1971 Tri-City Herald Article

• Richland’s at-large voting is consistent with other cities in Washington like Bellevue, Kirkland, Olympia, and Vancouver.

📌 1. "Council Members are all from the same area" ◄ NOT TRUE 

• 5 districts are proposed. 4 of these 5 already have council members living in them now. All 5 will likely be represented after November 5th, 2025. This changes every 2 years.

📌 2. "Citizens are not well represented by the council NOW, BUT would be if they had someone from their neighborhood" ◄ NOT TRUE 

• The City of Richland employees and the Council are good people dedicated to public service working hard for everyone in Richland. If you don't feel heard, contact them. Email them and the city manager; or go to a meeting and speak during the public comment period.

• This is a manipulative and dishonest message being pushed to ultimately take away the voting power of citizens in Richland, divide our community, and provide a shoe-in for a far left democrat in North Richland for elections in the future.  

*Contact information for Richland City Council Members can be found HERE

*Contact information for Richland City Manager can be found HERE

*City Council Meetings are at City Hall on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of every month. Public comment period is usually at the beginning of meetings. You can find that calendar HERE

Local Testimonials:

💬 Want to Learn More?

Richland's historical documents are also available from the City Clerks Office and more info related to Richland City Government is available Here.