OK of bill would give Utah 4th House seat

WASHINGTON — Utah could get a fourth seat in the House of Representatives based on a bill introduced Thursday giving the District of Columbia a full voting seat in the House.

The bill requires that the Republican state next in line for a new congressional seat with the highest number of residents get the seat now in order to balance "the solidly Democratic" District of Columbia, according to House Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C.

If it's approved, Utah would get an additional "at-large" member in the House who would represent the whole state until after the 2010 Census. This means the 2008 and 2010 House elections would have the at-large member before redistricting would take place for the 2012 race.

The act would mark the first time two additional seats have been added to the 435-member House since 1959.

"Party should not matter when it comes to a democratic right as basic as representation in the legislature that taxes your citizens and sends them to war," Norton said. "However, it is the undeniable reality that party equivalence in one form or another has driven decisions for adding voting representation."

The D.C. Fair and Equal House Voting Rights Act of 2006 creates "no partisan gain and no partisan disadvantage" Norton said, which are critical to get the support needed for the bill to pass.

Norton said the at-large seating is to make sure there is no manipulation through redistricting in Utah. The Republican-controlled Legislature could redraw districts, as it has in the past, to squeeze out Rep. Jim Matheson, the congressional delegation's lone Democrat.

Utah Republican Party Chairman Joe Cannon said that is exactly what would happen. He said this is a political process although it has to respect population trends. He anticipates the next district to be a "St. George-centric" seat, although it will be up to the Legislature. He said there are not enough people in southern Utah for a whole congressional district.

Cannon, who is a board member of the Deseret Morning News and the brother of Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, has not seen the bill and is not sure exactly how it would work if passed. He said he was surprised to see it requires at-large seat.

"Who are that person's constituents?" he asked.

Matheson's spokeswoman Alyson Heyrend said in 2001 it was no secret Republicans drew new borders to try to oust Matheson, but it didn't work.

Matheson said that Utah "deserves" a fourth seat. "That's my priority and what I'm hoping for with respect to this bill's progress," he said in a statement.