SALT LAKE CITY — Rep. Jim Matheson, Utah's only Democratic member of Congress, is calling for GOP Gov. Gary Herbert to create an independent commission to redraw the boundaries for congressional and legislative districts.
"Politicians should not be picking their voters," Matheson said in a statement announcing a Friday news conference where details of his proposal will be released.
Matheson will be joined by a leader of the failed "Fair Boundaries" initiative petition drive that sought to set up an independent commission to handle the redistricting required every 10 years, following the census.
The Legislature, even more strongly Republican after the Nov. 2 election, still has the final say on where the new boundaries will be. The independent commission Matheson is seeking could only make recommendations to lawmakers.
Herbert, though, is going to leave redistricting up the Legislature, which under the state constitution, remains responsible for reapportioning the seats to reflect population changes.
"In that context, he encourages the Legislature to perform its constitutional requirements in an open, transparent and thoughtful manner that adheres to the principle of fair representation for all Utah citizens," the governor's spokeswoman, Angie Welling, said.
Matheson spokeswoman Alyson Heyrend said the congressman's request was modeled on an attempt made by his late father, Gov. Scott Matheson, a Democrat, to influence redistricting in 1981.
The independent commission set up then drew up new maps reapportioning the districts and held public hearings on their proposal around the state. But in the end, she said, they had little impact on lawmakers.
Twenty years later, after the congressman won his first 2nd District race, the GOP-controlled Legislature redrew his district in an attempt to ensure his reelection would be difficult. This year he was one of the few Democrats nationwide to win, even though his district is strongly Republican.
e-mail: lisa@desnews.com
DeseretNews.com encourages a civil dialogue among its readers. We welcome your thoughtful comments.
— About comments
Lisa Riley Roche covers politics for the Deseret News/KSL news division, producing content for the newspaper, the TV and radio stations, and both deseretnews.com and ksl.com. She has been a reporter for more than 25 years, more ..
- Provo couple killed in RV accident near St....
- Police were watching, listening to Josh and...
- 'More questions than answers' as charges...
- Native American tribe buries remains, 150...
- Susan Powell's father wants help searching...
- Parents of Sandy Hook victim, Emilie Parker,...
- Man charged with killing Ogden officer found...
- Davis County honor student arrested in deaths...
Subscribe
Mobile
RSS
- Chaffetz not willing to take...
71 - Man charged with killing Ogden officer... 45
- Couples registry gets preliminary nod... 29
- Gov. Gary Herbert tells Washington... 17
- $2.6B needed for Utah to reach... 17
- Letters to family show Steven Powell... 17
- Utah's Count My Vote caucus initiative... 17
- One third of millenials regret going to... 13
The Republicans who dominate Utah's legislature are not big on ethics, accountability, or working across the aisle, so count on extensive gerrymandering and count out any independent commission.
Unfortunately what Reprsentative Matheson wants wn't happen. The Republicans don't care a bit about "fair". They don't care a bit about properly representing their constituents. They only care about amassing power, and to heck with the More..
Isn't it interesting that after getting their clocks cleaned in the election, Democrats around the country NOW want redistricting to be changed to "independent" commissions?
Didn't see them appointing those commissions when More..