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Legislative leaders appointed the 19-members of the Utah Redistricting Committee, which will re-draw the legislative, congressional and school board boundaries in the coming months.

The committee is made up of 14 Republicans and five Democrats, based on their proportional representation in the Legislature, and includes both House Speaker Becky Lockhart, R-Provo, and Senate President Michael Waddoups, R-Taylorsville,

The panel will begin meeting later this month and hold a series of meetings around the state. The Legislature also plans to create a Web site for the first time this year allowing the public to draw their own maps and submit them to the committee.

The chairmen of the committee — Rep. Ken Sumsion, R-American Fork, and Sen. Ralph Okerlund, R-Monroe — had already been announced.

The other House GOP members will be Republicans Curt Webb of Logan, Gage Froerer of Huntsville, Roger Barrus of Centerville, Todd Kiser of Sandy, Merlynn Newbold of South Jordan, Mel Brown of Coalville, Francis Gibson of Mapleton and Don Ipson of St. George.

The Republican senators on the committee will be Sens. Stuart Reid, R-Ogden, and Kevin Van Tassell, R-Vernal.

They will be joined by Democratic Reps. Brian King and Jackie Biskupski of Salt Lake City, and Christine Watkins of Price, and Democratic Senators Ben McAdams and Gene Davis of Salt Lake City.

"It sounds a lot like it's people who are not necessarily the strongest ideologues but the insiders," said Quin Monson, associate director of the Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy at Brigham Young University. "It's a lot of negotiating and they have to come to an agreement, so you need people who can eventually draw the line and negotiate with members of Congress and others and their colleagues."

There are two fewer Democratic House members serving on the committee this year than were on the committee in 2001, when there were five House members and two senators.

"These things are not pretty and all you can do is make it as fair as you can and hopefully we'll be treated fairly," said Davis, who served on the committee in 2001. For Waddoups, it will be his third time to serve on the redistricting committee, having been a member in 1991 and co-chairing the group in 2001.

"I felt like we should have some continuity and someone who's been through it. You notice all my other senators, it's their first time through," said Waddoups. Because he doesn't plan to seek re-election, Waddoups said he is "one of the few that doesn't have any stake in the game."

Indeed, with the exception of a couple of Democrats, few of the lawmakers have been through the redistricting process before.

Democrats could be facing the prospect of losing seats, with the bulk of the growth in the state occurring outside of the normal Democratic strongholds around Salt Lake City and Republicans once again in control of the process.

"Ultimately, Republicans are going to have their way here," said Monson. The only leverage Democrats have in the process, he said, is whether Rep. Jim Matheson will run for re-election to the House or run statewide. "It's a partisan process inherently and there's no effort to take the partisanship out of it in Utah. ... The Republicans are going to do exactly what they think is best to maximize their wins and the only missing piece of the puzzle is what do they think is best to maximize their wins."

Census figures show that Utah's population currently stands at about 2.76 million, meaning each of the 29 Senate districts should have 95,306 residents, while the 75 House districts should have about 37,000 each.

Each of the current seven Senate districts held by Democrats have fewer than the 95,306 target — some much fewer, and Waddoups said in February that likely means there will be one less Democratic seat.

Waddoups also expressed support in February for four Congressional districts that each have a mix of urban and rural constituents.

"I was opinionated then. Now that I'm an official member ... I'm going to go in with an open mind and open eyes and listen to all options," Waddoups said. "I'm going to go in totally open with all the options."

Davis, who was added to the 2001 redistricting committee after Sen. Pete Suazo was killed in a ATV accident, said he thinks there are ways to reshuffle districts without breaking up Democratic seats.

"I don't think we need to give up any seats in Salt Lake County," Davis said. "I know Utah County would love a new seat. The question is: Is there no other way to do all of this to make sure that people are dealt with fairly and the communities of interest are addressed?" —

Redistricting work to start

The leaders of the committee will meet Thursday to discuss the meeting schedule and organization. In 2001, the committee met a total of 18 times, including seven field hearings around the state. Members are expected to complete their work by this fall.