Rep. Jim Gowans, an active rancher in Vernon, will soon have more to herd than cattle.

Last Thursday, Gowans was elected as the minority whip in the state House of Representatives by Utah House Democrats. He is now the No. 2 leader in the 22-member House Democratic Caucus.

Gowans, who is entering his ninth term in the House, is one of only two House Democrats that are not from Salt Lake County. The other is recently elected Rep. Christine Walker, D-Price, in District 69 — the seat vacated by former House Minority Leader Brad King in his unsuccessful bid at the state Senate.

Rep. David Litvack, R-Salt Lake, who had been serving as the minority whip, was elected House minority leader to replace King.

As the minority whip, Gowans will assist Litvack in giving leadership to the Democratic party’s agenda in the House and assisting fellow Democrats with passing legislation.

“The last time I can recall a House member from Tooele in a leadership position was when I served in the House,” said Bev White, a Democrat who represented Tooele County in the state Legislature from 1971 to 1991. “I served as the assistant minority whip for around eight years total.”

Gowans said the party has not met since the election of party leadership to discuss priorities for the 2009 legislative session.

“However, leadership of both parties in both houses have talked about ethics reform,” he said. “We also have reports from two task forces with unfinished business from the last session, including health care reform and immigration legislation. I also expect the budget will be a difficult topic this year. We keep getting reports of lower revenue, which unfortunately means instead of deciding how to spend a surplus we will have to make decisions on where to make cuts.”

The Democrats remain a small minority in the 75-member House, making it impossible for them to stop legislation or block the override of a veto. However, it is still possible for Democrats to have a hand in crafting legislation, Gowans said.

“The Democrats can form bi-partisan coalitions with like-minded Republicans to get legislation passed,” Gowans said.

“Jim will have a lot more committee assignments and meetings to go to now. He will definitely be busier,” White said. “However, he should also be in a position to influence legislation for Tooele County, without compromising his party leadership duties.”

As a party leader, Gowans will sit on the Executive Appropriations Committee, which reviews all appropriation bills before sending them to the full Legislature for approval, and the Legislative Management Committee, which oversees the administrative functions of the Legislature, including assigning topics to interim committees for study, scheduling meetings, and hiring non-partisan staff.

Rounding out the house minority party leadership will be Rep. Carol Spackman Moss, D-Holladay, returning as assistant whip, and Rep. Jen Seelig, D-Salt Lake, as caucus manager.

Tim Gillie: tgillie@tooeletranscript.com