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.