Grantsville resident Merrill Nelson points at district maps for the state of Utah at his home Tuesday morning. Nelson is leading a movement to redraw the boundaries for political districts in Utah, including Tooele County where only one of six state legislators actually lives in the county.
- photography / Maegan Burr
- photography / Maegan Burr
Nelson’s group, the non-partisan Fair Boundaries Coalition, filed an initiative with the lieutenant governor’s office last week that would allow voters to choose in 2010 if they want an 11-member independent commission to be charged with redistricting after each decade’s census, or if they want that function to remain with state legislators. The initiative is a first salvo in the battle to end the gerrymandering — drawing boundaries for political advantage — that has been common practice in Utah for years, according to many political observers.
Judging by early reaction, Nelson doesn’t think the battle will be easy.
“I am surprised at the hostility of some legislators response to this proposal,” Nelson said. “It is as if they are kids in a playground and you have taken away their favorite toy. But the Legislature has a conflict of interest in drawing up their own boundaries. I was in the Legislature in 1991 when we redistricted following the 1990 census. I overheard the conversations in the hallways and back rooms. I know what went on.”
Nelson served in the Legislature for two years, from 1991 to 1992. He took an interest in redistricting after 2000, when legislators divided Tooele County into four senate districts, fragmenting the county politically. Tooele County is currently represented by senators living in Brigham City, Monroe, West Valley City, and Eagle Mountain.
The commission Nelson is proposing would redraw boundaries using detailed census data in order to keep communities intact.
The initiative has been worded to avoid constitutional questions that clearly place redistricting in the hands of the Legislature. The Legislature would still have final approval of any redistricting plan created by the commission. If they disapproved the plan, however, they would need to come up their own redistricting plan, which would have to follow the guidelines of the initiative, according to Nelson, whose legal practice at the Salt Lake firm of Kirton and McConkie includes constitutional law.
The Fair Boundaries Coalition does have some supporters in the Legislature.
Senator Brent Goodfellow, D-West Valley City, supports the initiative. Goodfellow’s 12th Senate district meanders through parts of West Valley City and Magna before leaping the Oquirrh Mountains to take in Stansbury Park.
“I have been in the Legislature for 26 years and there are a lot of issues that both parties can work together on,” Goodfellow said. “Redistricting is the most unfair legislation I have seen. Tooele County is a blatant example of gerrymandering, setting boundaries for political purposes. There has to be a better way. I will support the initiative, I will sign it, and I will encourage others to sign it.”
Sen. Ralph Okerlund, R-Monroe, represents District 24, which ranges over Rush Valley, Stockton, Wendover, and part of Tooele City, along with Juab, Piute, Sanpete, Sevier, and Wayne counties. He’s opposed to the new initiative.
“The Legislature is best set up to the job,” said Okerlund. “We know where our boundaries are and are familiar with the people and communities. I don’t object to input from other people, but a commission would be an added expense to the process. Tooele has a right to ask about boundaries and I was planning on holding a lot of meetings in Tooele to get input on redistricting.”
Rep. Jim Gowans, D-Tooele, the sole legislator representing Tooele County while living in the county, is lukewarm on the commission’s proposal.
“It is probably OK,” said Gowans. “But I am not a big proponent of initiatives to solve problems. Bypassing the Legislature when making laws is not always the best thing to do.”
The Fair Boundaries Coalition expects to begin collecting signatures on the initiative in June. It will take 94,000 signatures by April 15, 2010, to get the initiative on the November 2010 general election ballot.
Tim Gillie: tgillie@tooeletranscript.com
And not themselves.
You mean you LIKE to drive to visit your consituents who live as much as 350 miles apart and make that trip on a regular basis? Can you REALLY know your consituents with geography like that? And can I REALLY be represented by Okerland when I live in Tooele and he lives in Monroe (a 207-mile trip to my house)? Okay, granted, last time I saw Sen. Okerland, he remembered that he had met me months before when he was campaigning in Tooele, but I still find it hard to believe it's easy to represent Tooeleans when you live so far away.
And, can't we just jerrymander Hugh Gowans into retirement? Last time I talked to him on the phone he had NO interest whatsoever in discussing a current bill which he would be voting on in 2-3 days time. He said it was too late in the process for him to study the details we were asking about and would not discuss it... and THAT is from one of HIS constiuents. Time to retire him, he's become become part of the Legislative furniture.
Yes, I'm annoyed that the populated party of the Tooele Valley is subdivided into so many Legislative and Senate districts. Additionally, TOOELE is for MOST of these state elected officials the largest city they represent in their district.
Another unusual split is the cut between the 1st and 2nd congressional districts split north to south right up the middle of the avenues, you can't tell me that cut represents an attempt to keep like neighborhoods together. Or how about the reason Jason Chaffetz decided to run in the 3rd district ANYWAY... it's in his neighborhood, all EXCEPT a little scoop out of his neighborhood lopped over into what is mostly 2nd District Salt Lake area. I'm sure St. George in the 2nd district is happy that they are well represented by their like-minded Congress-person in the North Part of the State.
How about making it fair and draw 4 vertical lines or (4) 3 horizontal lines, or a big X through the state, or a plus and move the lines up or down or left or right until the population distribution is equal. How about letting a computer program run a random population equalizing line through the state until 3 (4) districts are found? Legislators can select the best random computer generated slice and vote on that. It would SURELY look more realistic than what we have now.
Roobah