The race between King County Councilwoman Jane Hague and Mercer Island resident Richard Mitchell to represent District No. 6 is one of the most hotly contested races in the Puget Sound area.

But for residents of Finn Hill, their vote may not matter in the end.

The 2010 Census numbers forced the state and county to look at redistricting. A five-member committee redrew the district lines and their proposal would move Finn Hill residents into Metropolitan King County Council District No. 1.

The Census, which is taken every 10 years, shows an 11 percent increase in the county population. Districts must be redrawn with every Census to reflect population changes. Most of the population growth in King County came on the east side of Lake Washington since 2000.

“Our committee has worked hard to keep communities of interest together and to incorporate community input, including comments received at a public hearing we held earlier this year in the nearby Kingsgate community,” said Rod Dembowski a member of the King County Districting Committee in an email to the Denny Creek Neighborhood Association.

“Growth on the Eastside of the county has meant that we have had to shrink Eastside districts (in terms of geographic coverage) and expand formerly Seattle-centered districts. Lake Washington presents a geographic challenge, and requires that districts move north, or south, around the lake. We heard significant testimony from the Northshore suburban cities that they wished to remain in one council district.”

The plan was submitted Thursday and the final chance for residents to comment comes Tuesday. The meeting will be the final of eight public comment sessions that were held during the summer from which the plan was devised.

The plan would move Finn Hill from a district it shares with the rest of Kirkland, to District No. 1, which includes Bothell, Kenmore, Lake Forest, Shorewood, North Seattle and a portion of Woodinville.

Many on Finn Hill are unhappy that they will be split from their new city, as the area was just annexed into Kirkland in June, said Scott Morris, president of the Denny Creek Neighborhood Association.

Morris is also personally opposed to the Finn Hill neighborhood’s redistricting, and said the new proposal doesn’t make sense.

“Balancing all of the testimony received, and in order to comply with the mandate under the County Charter and state law, the committee and the Districting Master believe that the proposed map is a good resolution in light of all of the challenges posed by the shift in population during the last 10 years,” said Dembowski in the email.

“The newly proposed District 1 is 2/3 suburban city, and 1/3 Seattle in terms of population. Many suburban cities were, at their request, split into two county council districts, which presumably increases their access to members of the county council. Following the Finn Hill annexation, Kirkland is now large enough that it is difficult to keep it in one county council district.”

District No. 1 is represented by Bob Ferguson, who is not up for reelection this year.

The change would also take parts of Seattle away from Ferguson and District No. 6 would gain parts of Redmond. The new district lines must be approved by January 15, 2012.

“By law, the new district boundaries must be compact, contiguous, and composed of economic and geographic units,” states the King County website. “To the extent feasible, the districts must correspond with the boundaries of existing municipalities, election precincts, census tracts, recognized natural boundaries, and preserve communities of related and mutual interest. Population data may not be used for purposes of favoring or disfavoring any racial group or political party.”

The districting committee was chosen by county council members: two by Republicans, two by Democrats and the fifth was agreed upon by all of the council members. Former King County Superior Court Judge Terrence Carroll serves as chairman.

The goal of the committee members was to bring all districts close to the average of 215,000 people each.

Three public hearings were held in May to gather community input. The committee released four draft district plans in June and scheduled four additional public hearings.