This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2007, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
WASHINGTON - After winning a majority in Congress, some Democrats suggested ditching Republican-dominated Utah in legislation proposed to give the District of Columbia its first voting member in the U.S. House of Representatives.
A compromise bill left hanging last year would have balanced a vote for heavily Democratic D.C. with a fourth U.S. House seat for Utah.
But following the Nov. 7 election, “Democrats came to us and said, 'We'll take up the bill next year [2007]. Why don't we leave Utah out, because we're in control now and we don't need bipartisan support,' ” Ilir Zherka, head of DC Vote said. “Our reaction to that was, 'Absolutely not.' ”
The sponsors of the bill refused, as well, and re-introduced a bill Tuesday that included the Utah seat.
Zherka would not say which Democrats proposed axing the Utah seat, and a spokeswoman for House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., the bill's original sponsor, said they had not heard of such a plan.
Joe Hunter, chief of staff to Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, said the proposal to abandon Utah did not come from any key Democrats.
"As far as we were concerned and the discussions we had with Democrats and the D.C. vote advocates, the thought of throwing Utah overboard was never a serious one," he said.
As it is, the bill incorporates a four-seat map adopted by the Utah Legislature in a special session last month.
“Utah did what they had to do. We couldn't turn our back on that,” said Davis' spokesman, David Marin.
The bill would permanently increase the House membership from 435 to 437. It stalled in the House late last year, but backers are hoping for quick passage in the new Democratic Congress.
Zherka said his group is shooting to have it voted on by the House next month and signed by the president in the spring.
"Washington is moving inexorably, in short order, in this direction," said Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. "We will continue to do all we can to urge Congress to move forward."
Cannon, who is a member of both House committees that will consider the bill, said he hopes the momentum created last year can be continued, but expressed some reservations about the new version introduced Tuesday.
"The bill they have introduced is a different proposal than the original one I co-sponsored, and I frankly have some concerns about the constraints it appears to place on Utah's right to determine the makeup of our congressional districts," Cannon said.
The new bill incorporates the Utah map, but prevents the Legislature from changing it until after the 2010 Census.
Cannon said he has expressed the concerns to Davis and "will continue to work with him to arrive at a bill that treats Utah fairly."