County Redistricting: Woodbury Will Have Three Commissioners

Woodbury will be represented by three Washington County commissioners starting in 2013.

The Washington County Board on Tuesday set new commissioner boundaries to reflect population changes from the 2010 Census.

The redrawn District 5 includes the bulk of Woodbury, with the northwestern part of the city in District 2 and the southwestern part of the city in District 4. (See the map with this story and specific precincts below.)

For Woodbury, the concern was never the number of commissioners who would represent the city, rather it was that the city wanted more time to weigh in on the proposals, Mayor Mary Giuliani Stephens said. The city held a workshop on county redistricting the Wednesday before Tuesday’s county board vote.

“There really was very little time to give feedback,” Stephens said, noting that the agreed-upon map wasn’t shown to council members during last week’s workshop.

The county board passed the redrawn districts 4-1, with Commissioner Bill Pulkrabek against.

He accused his colleagues of orchestrating a “backroom deal” that would pit him against Lisa Weik in November’s election, according to a Pioneer Press report. He said commissioners backtracked on an earlier plan that was agreed upon in principle.

However, Weik said Pulkrabek seconded an earlier motion for redrawn districts that would have also put him in her district.

“What is the explanation for that?” Weik said. “It’s ironic that he’s arguing that when he pushed for an option that would have given the same result.”

Pulkrabek told the Pioneer Press that he hasn’t decided if he will move or remain in Woodbury in the new District 5, and added that he is “seriously considering” a run against Weik.

Regarding the “backroom deal” comment, Weik said it’s absolutely untrue, adding that it’s “unfortunate” that the discussion has centered on the suggestion. She called the alignment new districts “data driven.”

“I think the public has the best map,” she said. “I think they’re interests are protected.”

Weik said she plans to run again this fall. “And I’m not moving.”

The entire board—other than District 4 Commissioner Lehrke, whose district's population changed less than 5 percent—will be up for re-election this fall. Oakdale’s district, District 2, is the only seat that will be up for a two-year term this fall. All the others will be four-year terms.

According to a release from Washington County, the new districts will be:

District 1: Dellwood, Forest Lake, Grant, Hugo, Precinct 1 of the City of Mahtomedi, Scandia, Marine on St. Croix and May Township.

District 2: Birchwood, Pine Springs, Willernie and the portion of White Bear Lake that is within Washington County (Ward 4 Precinct 2), Landfall, Precinct 2 of the Mahtomedi, Oakdale, and Woodbury Precincts 1, 2 and 7.

District 3: Afton, Bayport, Baytown Township, Lake Elmo, Lake St. Croix Beach, Lakeland, Lakeland Shores, Oak Park Heights, St. Mary’s Point, Stillwater, Stillwater Township and West Lakeland Township.

District 4: Cottage Grove, Denmark Township, the portion of Hastings that is within Washington County, Grey Cloud Island Township, Newport, St. Paul Park and Woodbury Precinct 14.

District 5: Woodbury Precinct 3, Precinct 4, Precinct 5, Precinct 6, Precinct 8, Precinct 9A, Precinct 10, Precinct 11, Precinct 12, Precinct 13A, Precinct 15, and Precinct 16.

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