From Deseret News archives:
Utah's 'splitting' headache
The city of Herriman requested the injunction, part of a lawsuit it has filed against the lieutenant governor and the Salt Lake County clerk. Judge Ted Stewart ruled that the vote on the proposed split did not violate the Constitution, adding "this is a question best left to the Legislature."
But the Legislature seems incapable of finding an answer.
While the city may decide to appeal the ruling, and it appears determined to continue its lawsuit, it seems the best opportunity to bring fairness to next month's vote disappeared when lawmakers failed to address it during an August special session.
Herriman had asked the court to intervene and allow the west-side residents to participate in the breakaway vote, as well.
The Salt Lake County Council and mayor seem to be the only governmental officials interested in making this issue more fair. They succeeded in stopping an effort to split the Granite District, given that much of it lies within unincorporated areas. But the only thing lawmakers managed to do during their special session was to take away the county's ability to stop the Jordan vote.
Absent any true leadership, the special session degenerated into arguments that showed a complete lack of leadership needed to reach a compromise.
Even if this doesn't rise to the level of a constitutional issue, the pending split is likely to create hardships on west-side residents that will, one way or the other, reverberate through the state Capitol.
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