Seattle Districts Now registered as a campaign with the Seattle Ethics and Elections Committee on Sept. 27 to propose a change in city council representation, calling for an amendment to the City Charter that would change the council from nine at-large members to a system with seven from separate districts and two at-large, according to a press release sent out by the group.

West Seattle, Harbor Island and South Park (everything to the west of the Duwamish River) make up district one in their proposal.

The reason? Seattle Districts Now writes it is “to ensure city council members are closer to the people they represent and that voters better know their city councilmembers. A mixed district/at-large system also provides for geographic distribution, so that no major area of our city is unrepresented.”

The districts were drawn up by Dr. Richard Morrill, a University of Washington professor and demographer, based on 2010 census information and input from the group.

Seattle Districts Now hopes to gather 50,000 signatures to get the charter amendment on the 2013 ballot (they believe they will need a little over 30,000), and, if it passed, the change would take effect for the 2015 municipal election.

Council candidates would have to live in the district they wish to represent. City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen currently resides in West Seattle, and he could theoretically run for either a district or at-large position if the amendment was passed.

According to the group, Seattle voters denied a charter amendment for a nine district system in 2003. The amendment lost 46.241 percent to 53.759 percent.

For more information from Seattle Districts Now , visit their website www.SeattleDistrictsNow.org, call 206 454-0697 or email at director@seattledistrictsnow.org. Mailing address is Seattle District Now, 300 Queen Anne Ave N 380, Seattle, WA 98109-4599