By Kelli Lundgren
Did you know only one in five top issues important to Utah’s Republican Party, and two in five top issues important to Utah’s Democratic Party, are also important to unaffiliated Utah registered voters? With very few high priority concerns in common, Utah’s 1,000,000 plus unaffiliated voters have very little representation in this state (since this post, Utah has removed "removable" independents from the count and the number is lower). Yet we are Utah's majority block of voters. Our numbers are greater than either the count of Republican or Democratic registered voters.
With exceptions, independents are usually not that into fear mongering rhetoric, although we get concerned about politics, the state of our nation, and the denial of facts by our leaders. In Utah, we’re not much into the right to bear and collect arsenals of arms. Nor are we livid over land access or states rights superseding federal laws and regulations. We perhaps like to choose candidates because of their individual qualities and integrity rather than their devotion to a political party.
We are independents after all. We like our individual freedom to choose.
Many but not all of the unaffiliated sit somewhere in the middle, thinking it’s good to have extremes for debate and compromise, hoping that the compromise will lead our state or nation in a positive direction. But it’s not happening.
Someone suggested that unaffiliated voters somehow are proud of their status. Yes we are. And I can tell you why. We are disgusted with the condition of politics in our state and nation. We are repelled by the stalemate between Republicans and Democrats nationally. This stalemate seems to be caused by a party willing to sacrifice the good of the whole, against the advice of most economists, in order to stick wholeheartedly, and sometimes irrationally, to ideology that has nothing to do with our nation’s best interests, or the intent of freedom and liberties for all.
In Utah, our state has one of the lowest voter turnout percentages in the nation, 53.8% of Utah registered voters, 34% of all adult Utah residents. Why do we have such a low turnout when just thirty-one years ago (1980) Utah had one of the highest turnout rates in the country, 80% of registered voters?
I believe there are a few reasons. One, many Utah citizens don’t think our vote will count. And if our opinions don’t match those of far-right conservatives now holding the reigns of our political system, our voices get discounted or diluted; discounted when someone tries to show up to a Republican caucus meeting and is rejected as a potential delegate if the caucus host disagrees, and diluted through redistricting. Utah’s Republican Party redrew the voting districts this year to protect favored incumbents and to disperse unwanted votes equally across as many districts as possible.
Represent Me Utah! attended December 16th’s Utah Foundation hosted debate on Utah's political party caucus/convention systems. Presenters were discussing either their satisfaction with or their problem with Republican and Democratic voices getting hijacked by extremists. (I'm still trying to find one Democratic extremist in Utah. The bills they present are fairly benign, mostly because they can only hope their bill even gets looked at by the Republican Supermajority.)
The group pursuing a way around Utah's bad caucus system now has to postpone its efforts, probably due to a lack of funding and due to last year's newly passed bill that makes it almost impossible to implement a citizens initiative.
So many ideas seem noncontroversial to me. Why not accept less-duplicated, less-fraudulent, less-costly e-signatures on initiatives and referendums? Why not offer same-day voter registration? Or an independent commission to decide redistricting? Or open caucus meetings, especially when most of Utah State's legislation gets drafted and strong-armed through in a closed session before the super-majority presents it to the Democrats and the public?
These ideas would simply create a better democracy. Yet, that would mean that those in power may loose some power.
It’s hard to tell the fox guarding the hen house to protect rather than eat the hens. Our leaders making ultimate decisions that do not match the priorities of the majority are feasting on their own perception of democracy, of control, or if you want, of a Constitutional Republic, which I find ironic since the ultimate Constitution we abide by was drafted by the Federal Government, an entity they don’t particularly like.
At this point, the only way I can think of to improve democracy in Utah is to get unaffiliated voters actually out to vote in 2012, to make them believe their vote can count, because it can count, but only if we all vote.
I do not care if you are Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Constitutionalist, Reform, Green Party or independent, if you vote, and if you are a registered Republican or Democrat and show up to your neighborhood caucus meeting and demand fairness, we can achieve with certainty a more representative democracy in this state.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Monday, December 12, 2011
Embarassing Tidbits!
By Kelli Lundgren
Here is the email message I sent to Senator Davis that the GOP is up in arms over:
--
Sent October 5, 2011
Hi Senator Davis,
Where do you stand on McAdams' Compromise Map, the one with the revisions to keep Utah County cities together? Are you still wanting the donut hole map? If, say, 100 citizens showed up on Friday to suggest a better map; do you think we should try to push the fair map, the donut hole map; or McAdams if it has a better chance?
McAdams' map: http://www.redistrictutah.com/maps/congress-sen-mcadams-06-10411
Thanks for all you have done on the committee.
Kelli
Kelli Lundgren
RepresentMeUtah!
801-915-7515
----
This email correspondence had nothing to do with a rally as was suggested in the Salt Lake Tribune (GOP: Democrats are hypocrites on redistricting, Dec. 10, 2011). It had to do with Represent Me Utah! preparing for an upcoming legislative redistricting committee meeting after the committee surprised citizens and reform groups with a never-before-seen U.S. Congressional Map.
Astonishingly, just a few weeks earlier, the legislative redistricting committee discarded six map finalists, selected after months of work, including one last doughnut hole map, and replaced all with the surprise map. In my message to Senator Davis, I was asking him as a committee member if he would be receptive to a "100 in-person" plea at the next public committee meeting to ask the redistricting committee to compromise, to vote for a modified "pizza slice" plan drawn by Senator McAdams. I asked a Democrat, Davis, because he had wanted a doughnut hole map previously. I asked him if a compromise map would have a "better chance" to receive a "yes" vote by committee members (Republican and Democratic). Davis' response could have been: The Democrats were sticking with a doughnut hole map proposal without compromise. But RMU needed their support on any compromise. The bigger feat for RMU was support from Republicans.
In the end, Republicans rejected the compromise map and all U.S. Congressional map submissions that met the request of the majority of citizens. (The majority of citizens, both urban and rural, favored a doughnut hole plan based on our analysis of public meetings and media polls.)
Before all this came down, RMU had endorsed House and Senate maps from Republicans Fred Cox and Wayne Harper.
Represent Me Utah! wasn't doing any dirty work for the Democrats. Contrarily, we were asking for the Democrats' help. Any help that meets the overall desire of citizens is good help, no matter which political party it comes from.
The GOP's spin on my email is certainly interesting. I'm wondering why only one? Why not list all my emails to all the Republicans and Democrats on the committee and in the legislative body? I certainly received finger cramps in the last days.
Kelli Lundgren
Here is the email message I sent to Senator Davis that the GOP is up in arms over:
--
Sent October 5, 2011
Hi Senator Davis,
Where do you stand on McAdams' Compromise Map, the one with the revisions to keep Utah County cities together? Are you still wanting the donut hole map? If, say, 100 citizens showed up on Friday to suggest a better map; do you think we should try to push the fair map, the donut hole map; or McAdams if it has a better chance?
McAdams' map: http://www.redistrictutah.com/maps/congress-sen-mcadams-06-10411
Thanks for all you have done on the committee.
Kelli
Kelli Lundgren
RepresentMeUtah!
801-915-7515
----
This email correspondence had nothing to do with a rally as was suggested in the Salt Lake Tribune (GOP: Democrats are hypocrites on redistricting, Dec. 10, 2011). It had to do with Represent Me Utah! preparing for an upcoming legislative redistricting committee meeting after the committee surprised citizens and reform groups with a never-before-seen U.S. Congressional Map.
Astonishingly, just a few weeks earlier, the legislative redistricting committee discarded six map finalists, selected after months of work, including one last doughnut hole map, and replaced all with the surprise map. In my message to Senator Davis, I was asking him as a committee member if he would be receptive to a "100 in-person" plea at the next public committee meeting to ask the redistricting committee to compromise, to vote for a modified "pizza slice" plan drawn by Senator McAdams. I asked a Democrat, Davis, because he had wanted a doughnut hole map previously. I asked him if a compromise map would have a "better chance" to receive a "yes" vote by committee members (Republican and Democratic). Davis' response could have been: The Democrats were sticking with a doughnut hole map proposal without compromise. But RMU needed their support on any compromise. The bigger feat for RMU was support from Republicans.
In the end, Republicans rejected the compromise map and all U.S. Congressional map submissions that met the request of the majority of citizens. (The majority of citizens, both urban and rural, favored a doughnut hole plan based on our analysis of public meetings and media polls.)
Before all this came down, RMU had endorsed House and Senate maps from Republicans Fred Cox and Wayne Harper.
Represent Me Utah! wasn't doing any dirty work for the Democrats. Contrarily, we were asking for the Democrats' help. Any help that meets the overall desire of citizens is good help, no matter which political party it comes from.
The GOP's spin on my email is certainly interesting. I'm wondering why only one? Why not list all my emails to all the Republicans and Democrats on the committee and in the legislative body? I certainly received finger cramps in the last days.
Kelli Lundgren
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Governor Herbert: Please Veto this Last Minute Messy Map
By Kelli Lundgren
Hours of closed-door Republican caucus meetings on Monday to finalize Utah's redistricting maps delivered two surprise congressional maps. The first, a completely new map never introduced to the minority party or the public until that day, with Republicans claiming it was a modified citizen’s map, a Garber map. Garber was the first to deny it looked anything like his map, stating the only commonality was Utah’s state outline. The rest of everybody only needed a visual to concur.
The second map, SB3002, introduced that day eventually passed through the House and Senate. It was presented to Democrats and the public between 7:30 and 8 p.m. It looks similar to the map the Senate passed two weeks earlier, with the House realizing any map they present to the Senate needs to be similar to the Senate approved map, or else it will go back to the drawing board. Even that Senate map was a last minute surprise map replacing the six finalist maps voted on by the Legislative Redistricting Committee.
So SB3002 is now waiting on only a signature from Governor Gary Herbert to be implemented for the next ten years. And it is a messy map.
Outside of all the other political tragedies of this map, including a blatant dilution of Democratic votes and picking voters for potential candidates, it carves up neighborhoods in Salt Lake County without thought. The only thought was to achieve a “0” or “1” person deviation to secure the map from litigation.
So now we have a messy map that actually splits the centers of some homes. I viewed close up aerial photos of the new boundaries at the Capitol today. Lines also divide quaint neighborhood streets down their centers, zigzagging all over the place, curling around captured neighborhood squares. It’s just a menagerie.
The moral to this story: if Republicans had taken four days, one month, or even the full six months they used for the public road tour, they could have fine tuned their map. They could have had time to review cuts through neighborhoods and houses. But when you surprise your audience with a brand new map at the last minute, sloppy is what happens; and sloppy could rule for the next ten years.
The new map cuts West Valley City in half, which in reality happens when you attempt to divide the most populous county in the state. The city’s Republican Mayor Mike Winder says it’s okay. He finds it beneficial to have two U.S. Congress people to go to with concerns.
I have news for Mayor Winder: his city is urban and therefore will be on the back burner. If a Republican candidate acquires either or both of the Congressional districts West Valley City resides in, his or her directive will be to focus on acquiring federal land in rural areas. Urban cities get the backside of the deal here, even though ironically I guess a congressman or woman will be from an urban area; unfortunate for rural residents.
Good congressional maps are out there. If Governor Herbert vetoes this messy map, and goes back and selects the Fred Cox/Ben McAdams map, or the King/Garber Modified map, I cannot tell you how much goodwill he would be offering to the citizens of our state. He would be choosing either a bipartisan compromise map or a citizen’s map if he selects the King/Garber map. This alone would be a magnificent move to satisfy the public.
The King/Garber map is a compromise map, not what the citizens really asked for. But I strongly believe citizens are willing to compromise. Our Republican Legislature was not.
If Governor Herbert is as smart as I think he is, he would leverage a veto and a substitute citizen map for the messy map passed by the House and Senate. This goodwill act could help regain trust by the citizenry. This goodwill could last for a very long time. I’m predicting ten years.
Hours of closed-door Republican caucus meetings on Monday to finalize Utah's redistricting maps delivered two surprise congressional maps. The first, a completely new map never introduced to the minority party or the public until that day, with Republicans claiming it was a modified citizen’s map, a Garber map. Garber was the first to deny it looked anything like his map, stating the only commonality was Utah’s state outline. The rest of everybody only needed a visual to concur.
The second map, SB3002, introduced that day eventually passed through the House and Senate. It was presented to Democrats and the public between 7:30 and 8 p.m. It looks similar to the map the Senate passed two weeks earlier, with the House realizing any map they present to the Senate needs to be similar to the Senate approved map, or else it will go back to the drawing board. Even that Senate map was a last minute surprise map replacing the six finalist maps voted on by the Legislative Redistricting Committee.
So SB3002 is now waiting on only a signature from Governor Gary Herbert to be implemented for the next ten years. And it is a messy map.
Outside of all the other political tragedies of this map, including a blatant dilution of Democratic votes and picking voters for potential candidates, it carves up neighborhoods in Salt Lake County without thought. The only thought was to achieve a “0” or “1” person deviation to secure the map from litigation.
So now we have a messy map that actually splits the centers of some homes. I viewed close up aerial photos of the new boundaries at the Capitol today. Lines also divide quaint neighborhood streets down their centers, zigzagging all over the place, curling around captured neighborhood squares. It’s just a menagerie.
The moral to this story: if Republicans had taken four days, one month, or even the full six months they used for the public road tour, they could have fine tuned their map. They could have had time to review cuts through neighborhoods and houses. But when you surprise your audience with a brand new map at the last minute, sloppy is what happens; and sloppy could rule for the next ten years.
The new map cuts West Valley City in half, which in reality happens when you attempt to divide the most populous county in the state. The city’s Republican Mayor Mike Winder says it’s okay. He finds it beneficial to have two U.S. Congress people to go to with concerns.
I have news for Mayor Winder: his city is urban and therefore will be on the back burner. If a Republican candidate acquires either or both of the Congressional districts West Valley City resides in, his or her directive will be to focus on acquiring federal land in rural areas. Urban cities get the backside of the deal here, even though ironically I guess a congressman or woman will be from an urban area; unfortunate for rural residents.
Good congressional maps are out there. If Governor Herbert vetoes this messy map, and goes back and selects the Fred Cox/Ben McAdams map, or the King/Garber Modified map, I cannot tell you how much goodwill he would be offering to the citizens of our state. He would be choosing either a bipartisan compromise map or a citizen’s map if he selects the King/Garber map. This alone would be a magnificent move to satisfy the public.
The King/Garber map is a compromise map, not what the citizens really asked for. But I strongly believe citizens are willing to compromise. Our Republican Legislature was not.
If Governor Herbert is as smart as I think he is, he would leverage a veto and a substitute citizen map for the messy map passed by the House and Senate. This goodwill act could help regain trust by the citizenry. This goodwill could last for a very long time. I’m predicting ten years.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Flies, not Clowns
By Kelli Lundgren
It interests me that people are still accusing, or trying to find slip-ups in conversation and quotes to confirm Utah’s Republican legislators are diluting unwanted votes in this intense redistricting process. So and so said “Republicans want 62% Republicans in every Congressional District.” So and so said, “that.”
Then, the Legislative Redistricting Committee meets once again in front of the public, and every Republican presenting a map explains that it is imperative to have an urban/rural mix; or, we must have federal land in each district; or, we are dividing Salt Lake County in four to make “competitive districts.” All sound bites.
How silly is this? The elephant in the room is obvious, besides the Republican trademark. No matter how the Republicans want to spin facts, or the press accuse motive, redistricting’s big underlying principles by a supermajority party are simply to split up unwanted votes and to protect favored incumbents. So everybody, here is the elephant in the room. Now let’s move on.
Currently, Utah’s redistricting process is a boxing match. We’re in round 10, bloodied and battered on both sides. But the boxers aren’t the usual suspects. The opponents are Republicans. Each boxer has too many trainers in each respective corner; the (Republican) governor, other Republican legislators, Carl Wimmer, and anyone Republicans owe a favor. Each and every trainer is giving each boxer inconsistent advice, thus repeated rounds.
The Democrats? They are the spectators, but with front row seats. They are now finally on their feet cautiously yelling for democracy, but still on the sidelines.
And RepresentMeUtah? We’re the fly incessantly bugging the boxers. It’s hard for the boxers to swat at us because of their gloves, and because they have to focus their swollen eyes on their Republican opponent at all times.
RepresentMeUtah! is a small fly. The much bigger fly is the public. And we’re buzzing around the Republican boxing ring. What a nuisance.
This week, RepresentMeUtah walked into the redistricting committee meeting, all six members for the first time together and asked for compromise. You cannot believe the heart wrenching workings that went on behind our scenes when we asked ourselves if we and the public could support a modified pizza slice plan, a compromise presented by Senator Ben McAdams.
In the end, this week, we did not get much public interest behind the map because there is a better, more favorable map still out there; the King01/Garber, I’ll call “excellent map.” It’s compact and doesn’t use voter data to dilute Democratic votes. I personally believe, and am sick with this knowledge, that a map that does not dilute Democratic votes will be rejected by Republicans.
So, with pain, I endorse a map, the McAdams Compromise Map, that at least shows some compromise. Acceptance of such a map, I think at least, would thwart a Democratic lawsuit. But this is just my opinion. I do not know what the Democrats will accept. And too, a compromise would call off RepMeU and coalition groups from rallying again, and instead we could offer a “thank you for compromising” to our legislature.
RepresentMeUtah members have been called many names in this process by legislative members, and by conservatives, and that is expected. We’re simply not going to give up. The press started out calling us a good government group, then called us a “supposed good government group,” and settled last month on calling us a reform group. It will be interesting to see what they will be calling us next month.
RepresentMeUtah!’s journey is much greater than redistricting. We don’t know if we will have any impact on the redistricting process, but we’re trying. The reality that we are very aware of is: the Republican Legislature is holding most of the cards.
I used to sit comfortably on my couch and accept the fact that I live in a conservative state. I vote Republican and Democratic in this state, for candidates and not for political parties. I vote for candidates seemingly practical, tolerant, and progressive. I would love to see more moderate Republicans backing fair representation in the redistricting process because I believe fair districts will benefit them too.
I would love to see the two in three registered Utah voters that don’t vote, get out to vote next year, instead of rolling their eyeballs. Their massive voting power could make a huge difference.
I would love to see our state heading more toward moderation and reason, versus toward fear and a distaste for Democrats.
So I am willing to look like a clown and be called names when fighting for a return to compromise and reason.
It interests me that people are still accusing, or trying to find slip-ups in conversation and quotes to confirm Utah’s Republican legislators are diluting unwanted votes in this intense redistricting process. So and so said “Republicans want 62% Republicans in every Congressional District.” So and so said, “that.”
Then, the Legislative Redistricting Committee meets once again in front of the public, and every Republican presenting a map explains that it is imperative to have an urban/rural mix; or, we must have federal land in each district; or, we are dividing Salt Lake County in four to make “competitive districts.” All sound bites.
How silly is this? The elephant in the room is obvious, besides the Republican trademark. No matter how the Republicans want to spin facts, or the press accuse motive, redistricting’s big underlying principles by a supermajority party are simply to split up unwanted votes and to protect favored incumbents. So everybody, here is the elephant in the room. Now let’s move on.
Currently, Utah’s redistricting process is a boxing match. We’re in round 10, bloodied and battered on both sides. But the boxers aren’t the usual suspects. The opponents are Republicans. Each boxer has too many trainers in each respective corner; the (Republican) governor, other Republican legislators, Carl Wimmer, and anyone Republicans owe a favor. Each and every trainer is giving each boxer inconsistent advice, thus repeated rounds.
The Democrats? They are the spectators, but with front row seats. They are now finally on their feet cautiously yelling for democracy, but still on the sidelines.
And RepresentMeUtah? We’re the fly incessantly bugging the boxers. It’s hard for the boxers to swat at us because of their gloves, and because they have to focus their swollen eyes on their Republican opponent at all times.
RepresentMeUtah! is a small fly. The much bigger fly is the public. And we’re buzzing around the Republican boxing ring. What a nuisance.
This week, RepresentMeUtah walked into the redistricting committee meeting, all six members for the first time together and asked for compromise. You cannot believe the heart wrenching workings that went on behind our scenes when we asked ourselves if we and the public could support a modified pizza slice plan, a compromise presented by Senator Ben McAdams.
In the end, this week, we did not get much public interest behind the map because there is a better, more favorable map still out there; the King01/Garber, I’ll call “excellent map.” It’s compact and doesn’t use voter data to dilute Democratic votes. I personally believe, and am sick with this knowledge, that a map that does not dilute Democratic votes will be rejected by Republicans.
So, with pain, I endorse a map, the McAdams Compromise Map, that at least shows some compromise. Acceptance of such a map, I think at least, would thwart a Democratic lawsuit. But this is just my opinion. I do not know what the Democrats will accept. And too, a compromise would call off RepMeU and coalition groups from rallying again, and instead we could offer a “thank you for compromising” to our legislature.
RepresentMeUtah members have been called many names in this process by legislative members, and by conservatives, and that is expected. We’re simply not going to give up. The press started out calling us a good government group, then called us a “supposed good government group,” and settled last month on calling us a reform group. It will be interesting to see what they will be calling us next month.
RepresentMeUtah!’s journey is much greater than redistricting. We don’t know if we will have any impact on the redistricting process, but we’re trying. The reality that we are very aware of is: the Republican Legislature is holding most of the cards.
I used to sit comfortably on my couch and accept the fact that I live in a conservative state. I vote Republican and Democratic in this state, for candidates and not for political parties. I vote for candidates seemingly practical, tolerant, and progressive. I would love to see more moderate Republicans backing fair representation in the redistricting process because I believe fair districts will benefit them too.
I would love to see the two in three registered Utah voters that don’t vote, get out to vote next year, instead of rolling their eyeballs. Their massive voting power could make a huge difference.
I would love to see our state heading more toward moderation and reason, versus toward fear and a distaste for Democrats.
So I am willing to look like a clown and be called names when fighting for a return to compromise and reason.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Yes We're Disappointed
By Kelli Lundgren
To the press, the public, and the Legislative Redistricting Committee: Yes, members of RepresentMeUtah! are very disappointed in Utah's redistricting final maps. But we are not surprised.
Following this process has been eye-opening to our optimistic agenda. This is what we've learned:
1. Redistricting is performed by elected officials to protect themselves and political agendas, and, in Utah, to tighten up the one-party rule while the other party looks on. "Leaders choosing voters" still applies to Utah's process in 2011. Even the press analyzes the process in terms of its affect on incumbents. Most of Utah's citizens already gave up on fairness years ago, except for thirty or so of us "Don Quixote-types."
2. Pertaining to RepresentMeUtah!'s repeated requests to keep communities together: Are we insane? Probably. Ignored? Definitely. Of course gerrymandering had to be performed to protect Republican incumbents, candidates and agendas. Republican committee members discarded fair submitted maps because they minimized community, city and county divides without consideration for incumbents.
3. Damn legal system. The Legislative redistricting committee fortunately had to listen to citizen and local leader requests to keep Rose Park, Glendale, and basically northwest Salt Lake County together after proposing to dilute portions of the common interest community into the boundaries of a favored Republican incumbent in North Salt Lake. Good for citizens. Bad for Republicans. The Republican legislators had to accommodate keeping the community together to protect themselves from a lawsuit on the subject.
4. Damn legal system, again. New proposed committee boundaries divide grocery store parking lots, city blocks, etc. because one-person-one-vote tolerances need to get down to one or zero persons. If they don't, in a lawsuit, a judge may otherwise pick Fair Boundaries' "down to zero" map that only protects city and county boundaries, instead of incumbents and political agendas.
5. I think that when my dog does his duty in our backyard he is temporarily in another House district. My city, Cottonwood Heights, is divided into two U.S. Congressional Districts, two Utah Senate Districts, and three House Districts.
6. It would be naive of anyone to believe that Republicans on the Legislative Redistricting Committee did not use voting history to dilute the 1.05 million diverse votes in Salt Lake County into other urban and rural counties on the U.S. Congressional maps. We actually saw one pizza slice map that remarkably diluted Democratic votes across the board into Republican votes and showed the stats. The map and its analysis had to be removed from consideration because of legal implication, but similar maps are still in the running for the final cut.
7. 53% of the public wanted the doughnut hole approach (Salt Lake Tribune). The plea was ignored. RepresentMeUtah! even analyzed the committee's "translated" meeting notes from public meetings around the state, that even after remarks were watered-down for legal reasons, we found 67% of public and city leader comments were pleas in favor of the doughnut hole approach, dividing urban and rural.
8. Yes, we have a plan to continue our fight for fairness and democracy.
9. By the way, many of the six remaining U.S. Congressional maps now split Utah County East to West... it must be for another Tea Party candidate to proclaim their candidacy. Sandstrom or Herrod, perhaps? Don't be surprised. Republicans leading the legislative redistricting committee "sacrificed a House district" and put both men in one. There is probably method to their sacrifice.
10. An independent commission that does not protect incumbents needs to be pursued. This current redistricting process is the biggest slight to democracy in all states, but in Utah in particular, where one party rules and the other looks on. Utah's majority party continues to strengthen its rule through redistricting by picking its voters.
11. This process is one big gerrymander; one further disenfranchisement of voters, one further dilution of undesired votes by Republicans. Stay tuned to the Wall Street Journal as I suspect it will use Utah once again in 2011 as its excellent example of redistricting's disenfranchisement of voters.
12. Yes, RepresentMeUtah! members are disappointed, but we're not naive. I can only guess we all have some type of optimist gene that says we can do something to improve the process.
13. However, there's still a lot of potential, perhaps even legally. And of course, if we can somehow stir the emotions of 1.2 million Democratic and Independent voters to get out and vote next year, we may be able to counter the Republican gerrymander, and eventually blow these boundaries right out of my backyard.
Kelli Lundgren
To the press, the public, and the Legislative Redistricting Committee: Yes, members of RepresentMeUtah! are very disappointed in Utah's redistricting final maps. But we are not surprised.
Following this process has been eye-opening to our optimistic agenda. This is what we've learned:
1. Redistricting is performed by elected officials to protect themselves and political agendas, and, in Utah, to tighten up the one-party rule while the other party looks on. "Leaders choosing voters" still applies to Utah's process in 2011. Even the press analyzes the process in terms of its affect on incumbents. Most of Utah's citizens already gave up on fairness years ago, except for thirty or so of us "Don Quixote-types."
2. Pertaining to RepresentMeUtah!'s repeated requests to keep communities together: Are we insane? Probably. Ignored? Definitely. Of course gerrymandering had to be performed to protect Republican incumbents, candidates and agendas. Republican committee members discarded fair submitted maps because they minimized community, city and county divides without consideration for incumbents.
3. Damn legal system. The Legislative redistricting committee fortunately had to listen to citizen and local leader requests to keep Rose Park, Glendale, and basically northwest Salt Lake County together after proposing to dilute portions of the common interest community into the boundaries of a favored Republican incumbent in North Salt Lake. Good for citizens. Bad for Republicans. The Republican legislators had to accommodate keeping the community together to protect themselves from a lawsuit on the subject.
4. Damn legal system, again. New proposed committee boundaries divide grocery store parking lots, city blocks, etc. because one-person-one-vote tolerances need to get down to one or zero persons. If they don't, in a lawsuit, a judge may otherwise pick Fair Boundaries' "down to zero" map that only protects city and county boundaries, instead of incumbents and political agendas.
5. I think that when my dog does his duty in our backyard he is temporarily in another House district. My city, Cottonwood Heights, is divided into two U.S. Congressional Districts, two Utah Senate Districts, and three House Districts.
6. It would be naive of anyone to believe that Republicans on the Legislative Redistricting Committee did not use voting history to dilute the 1.05 million diverse votes in Salt Lake County into other urban and rural counties on the U.S. Congressional maps. We actually saw one pizza slice map that remarkably diluted Democratic votes across the board into Republican votes and showed the stats. The map and its analysis had to be removed from consideration because of legal implication, but similar maps are still in the running for the final cut.
7. 53% of the public wanted the doughnut hole approach (Salt Lake Tribune). The plea was ignored. RepresentMeUtah! even analyzed the committee's "translated" meeting notes from public meetings around the state, that even after remarks were watered-down for legal reasons, we found 67% of public and city leader comments were pleas in favor of the doughnut hole approach, dividing urban and rural.
8. Yes, we have a plan to continue our fight for fairness and democracy.
9. By the way, many of the six remaining U.S. Congressional maps now split Utah County East to West... it must be for another Tea Party candidate to proclaim their candidacy. Sandstrom or Herrod, perhaps? Don't be surprised. Republicans leading the legislative redistricting committee "sacrificed a House district" and put both men in one. There is probably method to their sacrifice.
10. An independent commission that does not protect incumbents needs to be pursued. This current redistricting process is the biggest slight to democracy in all states, but in Utah in particular, where one party rules and the other looks on. Utah's majority party continues to strengthen its rule through redistricting by picking its voters.
11. This process is one big gerrymander; one further disenfranchisement of voters, one further dilution of undesired votes by Republicans. Stay tuned to the Wall Street Journal as I suspect it will use Utah once again in 2011 as its excellent example of redistricting's disenfranchisement of voters.
12. Yes, RepresentMeUtah! members are disappointed, but we're not naive. I can only guess we all have some type of optimist gene that says we can do something to improve the process.
13. However, there's still a lot of potential, perhaps even legally. And of course, if we can somehow stir the emotions of 1.2 million Democratic and Independent voters to get out and vote next year, we may be able to counter the Republican gerrymander, and eventually blow these boundaries right out of my backyard.
Kelli Lundgren
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Utah Base Senate Map Needs Work! By Kelli Lundgren
Utah’s new base Senate redistricting map doesn’t pass muster. It unnecessarily divides cities, counties and communities for incumbency protection.
For example, the Senate created a “thumb” district extension of Tooele County into west Salt Lake valley to secure an incumbent residing in Salt Lake County. (See base Senate map.) This resulted in taking a swath of residential Tooele County and giving it to Box Elder County, which has no direct transportation link.
The Senate secured incumbents in Weber and Davis County, discussed as an important measure in Sept. 7th’s Legislative redistricting meeting. The committee rationed this as one reason why it had to take Stansbury Park from Tooele, or it would mess up boundaries for other northeastern incumbents.
Also egregious: when you count the total population for Utah County, it needs 5.5 Senators. It’s getting eight. The Senate has pulled in populations from four perimeter counties, including Salt Lake. Incumbent protection is involved once again.
The reality is: minimizing city and county divides means you can’t play politics, and redistricting, as it is, is all about serious politics.
Utah voters vote 60% Republican and 40% Democrat on average. 73% of our legislators are Republican. With the greatest off-balance in a two-party system in the nation, Utah Republicans control just about every string of Utah’s political puppet.
In redistricting, the Democrats ask for what they want, wait in the hallways for an outcome, and then find out with the rest of us what Republicans have decided.
Waiting with Utah’s Democrats for a redistricting outcome are: RepresentMeUtah!, other political activist groups, many rural and urban citizens, and municipal leaders; all that have requested to keep communities together. A $100K software program for public input and an around-the-state road trip now seem an awful waste.
Senator Stuart Reid said the legislators are the best and most knowledgeable people to draft the maps now. Senator Michael Waddoups told good government groups off the cuff at Sept. 12th’s meeting we’re not listening to you anymore. Did he ever listen in the first place?
Good government groups like the base map for the House. (Utah Base House Map.) Its areas are fairly compact and keep several communities together. Also, we have seen the House use comments and concerns from citizens from the road trip, such as putting Cedar City back together in one district after proposing a split down its main street; keeping representation of Rosepark in Salt Lake County and not diluting its votes into Davis County. This certainly doesn’t mean that incumbency was not considered in the House map. I am certain it was. But the House has at least thrown Democrats and citizens a bone and listened to some of our comments. There's some hope.
RepresentMeUtah! believes that political systems in every state should ignore incumbents when drawing new boundaries. As Utah citizens, RepresentMeUtah! members are not counting safe seats for Democrats and Republicans. We believe that if new boundaries preserve county, city and community borders as much as possible, given one-person-one-vote parameters, democracy is better served. Voter-reflective representation, which is well needed in Utah, is better achieved.
If an impartial redistricting process were to be performed, politics would need to fly out the window. Democracy would take its place.
Redistricting’s squash of democracy is not unique to Utah. Yet in all other states, two parties duke out new boundaries and come to a compromise. In supermajority Utah, Republican legislators have the final say.
September 22nd should be interesting as it is the final public meeting and we will be looking at maps of four new U.S. Congressional districts. Utah’s three congressmen are invited to attend and submit maps. That’s when high drama begins. Oh wait, it already has!
Doughnuts or pizza anyone?
For example, the Senate created a “thumb” district extension of Tooele County into west Salt Lake valley to secure an incumbent residing in Salt Lake County. (See base Senate map.) This resulted in taking a swath of residential Tooele County and giving it to Box Elder County, which has no direct transportation link.
The Senate secured incumbents in Weber and Davis County, discussed as an important measure in Sept. 7th’s Legislative redistricting meeting. The committee rationed this as one reason why it had to take Stansbury Park from Tooele, or it would mess up boundaries for other northeastern incumbents.
Also egregious: when you count the total population for Utah County, it needs 5.5 Senators. It’s getting eight. The Senate has pulled in populations from four perimeter counties, including Salt Lake. Incumbent protection is involved once again.
The reality is: minimizing city and county divides means you can’t play politics, and redistricting, as it is, is all about serious politics.
Utah voters vote 60% Republican and 40% Democrat on average. 73% of our legislators are Republican. With the greatest off-balance in a two-party system in the nation, Utah Republicans control just about every string of Utah’s political puppet.
In redistricting, the Democrats ask for what they want, wait in the hallways for an outcome, and then find out with the rest of us what Republicans have decided.
Waiting with Utah’s Democrats for a redistricting outcome are: RepresentMeUtah!, other political activist groups, many rural and urban citizens, and municipal leaders; all that have requested to keep communities together. A $100K software program for public input and an around-the-state road trip now seem an awful waste.
Senator Stuart Reid said the legislators are the best and most knowledgeable people to draft the maps now. Senator Michael Waddoups told good government groups off the cuff at Sept. 12th’s meeting we’re not listening to you anymore. Did he ever listen in the first place?
Good government groups like the base map for the House. (Utah Base House Map.) Its areas are fairly compact and keep several communities together. Also, we have seen the House use comments and concerns from citizens from the road trip, such as putting Cedar City back together in one district after proposing a split down its main street; keeping representation of Rosepark in Salt Lake County and not diluting its votes into Davis County. This certainly doesn’t mean that incumbency was not considered in the House map. I am certain it was. But the House has at least thrown Democrats and citizens a bone and listened to some of our comments. There's some hope.
RepresentMeUtah! believes that political systems in every state should ignore incumbents when drawing new boundaries. As Utah citizens, RepresentMeUtah! members are not counting safe seats for Democrats and Republicans. We believe that if new boundaries preserve county, city and community borders as much as possible, given one-person-one-vote parameters, democracy is better served. Voter-reflective representation, which is well needed in Utah, is better achieved.
If an impartial redistricting process were to be performed, politics would need to fly out the window. Democracy would take its place.
Redistricting’s squash of democracy is not unique to Utah. Yet in all other states, two parties duke out new boundaries and come to a compromise. In supermajority Utah, Republican legislators have the final say.
September 22nd should be interesting as it is the final public meeting and we will be looking at maps of four new U.S. Congressional districts. Utah’s three congressmen are invited to attend and submit maps. That’s when high drama begins. Oh wait, it already has!
Doughnuts or pizza anyone?
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