Question is, should voters pick their representatives or vice versa?

A forum held Thursday at the University of Utah's Hinckley Institute of Politics examined the idea of an independent commission redrawing boundary lines.

Leave the matter to the Legislature, said Republican Chris Bleak, chief of staff for House Speaker Greg Curtis. After all, the Utah Constitution gives state lawmakers that responsibility.

"We get to where we want to delegate power on less popular issues, and then you have a government of dysfunction," Bleak said. "To delegate that power weakens the Legislature."

County Councilman Joe Hatch and Rep. Rebecca Chavez-Houck, both Democrats, favor the formation of a citizen advisory panel to better serve the voters' interests.

"In October 2001, The Wall Street Journal identified Utah as having the worst example of abusing the power of redrawing congressional districts," said Tim Chambless, a U. political science professor.

Chambless referred to the reshaping of the once largely urban 2nd Congressional district held by Democrat Jim Matheson. That year, lawmakers redrew the district to pick up Matheson's house in Salt Lake City, then extended it to rural areas of southern Utah, Chambless said.

Hatch pointed out that Salt Lake County got split among three congressional districts and Salt Lake City among two, which de-emphasized urban interests.

"Utah is one of the most urbanized states in the country, but for some reason rural interests dominate our politics," Hatch said.

In the recent legislative session, Chavez-Houck sponsored HB376 to establish an independent commission. The bill stalled in the Rules Committee, never reaching the floor for debate.

"The issue has been bandied about for at least six years," she said. "Why are we not at least having a dialogue to assess if the current system is working?"

cmckitrick@sltrib.com