A grass-roots initiative is gaining momentum to reform the method for drawing district maps in Utah, and the University Journal Editorial Board thinks this fair idea is desperately needed in our state.
The Fair Boundaries initiative is collecting petition signatures in an effort to get the plan on the next general election ballot.
The plan would establish an 11-member independent commission with no more than four Republican members and four Democrat members and the remaining three being unaffiliated with either party.
Gerrymandering has been criticized in our state for quite some time, and any look at a current district map is evidence of this.
Many districts boundaries look as though a 3-year-old drew the lines, while in fact they are drawn with heavy political consideration based on what political party can win in any given area.
Currently, it falls to elected officials in the state legislature to set their own district boundaries, a wholly unfair practice — especially in a one-party state such as Utah.
The independent commission would bar individuals who have obvious conflicts of interest from participating in the drawing of the lines.
Fair Boundaries has received endorsements from top news agencies including the Salt Lake Tribune and Deseret News, as well as many politicians including Republican and former U.S. Congressman Jim Hansen and Salt Lake County Mayor, Democrat Peter Corroon.
For obvious reasons, this initiative has not been well received by many members of the legislature, as it would remove some of their power to control state politics.
Particularly, the ruling party of the legislature, the GOP, has taken issue with the initiative, as their influence over districting will be greatly diminished.
On the other hand, the Utah Democratic Party has openly endorsed Fair Boundaries.
The Journal thinks it unfortunate that politics are again working against an initiative that would benefit the people of Utah.
Legislative districts should be about having geographical locations having representation that meets the needs of their area, not about creating safe zones for particular political parties.
The Michael O. Leavitt Center for Politics & Public Service will present an informational forum on the Fair Boundaries and ethics reform initiatives Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. in the R. Haze Hunter Conference Center.
We think that the push for independence from the control of either party on the process of drawing district boundaries is the right way to go — it’s time to end gerrymandering in Utah once and for all.
The petition is available to sign at the Leavitt Center in the Sharwan Smith Center.
The opinions expressed above are the collective perspective of the University Journal Editorial Board. The editorial board meets every Monday and Thursday at 5:30 p.m. in room 176C of the Sharwan Smith Center.
Southern Utah University suunews.com > Opinion
EDITORIAL: Fair process needed to set district boundaries
Published: Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Updated: Wednesday, February 17, 2010
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