This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
One map guarantees three west-side County Council seats. Another tailors voting districts to city boundaries. And two oust a longtime Republican incumbent.
But the Salt Lake County Redistricting Commission insists that none of its three maps contains this political sin: gerrymandering.
A panel of three Democrats, three Republicans and a lone independent has spent months quietly redrawing sixcouncil districts as members of the county's first independent redistricting commission.
Now, with scenarios ranging from the status quo to the controversial, the commission is ready to roll out its work to the County Council this month.
Some maps will be easy to swallow: The first bears a striking resemblance to the current council districts with elected officials and their constituents largely sticking together.
Others might lead to some indigestion: Decade-long Republican Councilman David Wilde is drawn out of District 3 in two of the three scenarios. To remain in office, he would have to run against District 4 Democratic Councilwoman Jani Iwamoto.
Ultimately, the council — which consists of six district and three countywide representatives — will decide which map, if any, is palatable.
The independent redistricting commission represents an experiment in nonpartisanship for Utah's most-populous county. Championed by Democrats in 2009 under then-Council Chairman Joe Hatch, the commission was created to make a historically hyperpartisan process less political.
Janice Auger Rasmussen, who has led that commission, says it has done just that.
"When we accepted our appointment, we knew what our charge was: that we were the first independent commission," says Rasmussen, a Republican and former Taylorsville mayor. "We would go down in history as a total failure if the county went into an independent process that looked like it wasn't independent. If we wanted to push an agenda of getting a line drawn for political purposes, we shouldn't have taken the assignment."
The commission has largely done its work without controversy — or public attention — since beginning its assignment late last year. But that could change when it presents its plans to the council.
Wilde wonders whether he is being targeted.
"Somebody is playing politics here," the councilman alleges, noting that he is the only council member being pushed out of his district — twice. "In both of those instances, they take almost all of my existing district away and say, 'Why don't you go and run against Jani?' "
But Rasmussen defends the process.
"If it is an independent process," she asks, "why should it guarantee a seat to an incumbent?"
So what is the redistricting commission proposing? The best glimpse of the proposedboundaries is available online at http://www.slco.org/html/redistcommission.html, even though you'll have to browse the "List of Past Agendas" link to find scenarios one, two and three. But here's a snapshot of what to expect.
The Status Quo Plan: This map follows the council's current boundaries as closely as possible, while still accounting for the county's 100,000-plus rise in population during the past decade.
The Communities of Interest Plan: This map attempts to keep communities together by not separating cities such as Midvale, Sandy and South Jordan among various council districts.
The Math Problem Plan: This map divides the county into a geometric grid consisting of six chunks of 171,000 people. Three of the districts would fall entirely on the west side— with boundaries stopping at the Jordan River or 1300 West — while the other three would stretch up to the eastern foothills. The council now only has two west-siders, Republicans Michael Jensen (District 2) and Steve DeBry (District 5).
The commission's favorite map? The Math Problem Plan.
"We feel there are flaws in the existing configuration," Rasmussen says. "To align the new plan with the existing map perpetuates those weaknesses. The best way to get them corrected is a clean slate."
The commission ranks the Communities of Interest Plan second and Status Quo Plan third.
"It has been an almost academic exercise," says Mary Bishop, chairwoman of the county Democratic Party, noting that she has not seen "political motivations" enter into the process.
Julie Dole, chairwoman of the county GOP, doesn't dispute that. She says the process has been largely fair and nonpolitical. However, she says, the maps aren't entirely consistent with the rules the council spelled out. Truth be told, only one map follows the guidelines, she says.
When the council created the commission, it listed five principles that should guide the redistricting effort. Any changes should remain consistent, to the "maximum extent possible," with the district's original configuration; avoid removing existing council members, where possible; align themselves as closely as possible with city and township boundaries; include at least two jurisdictions in each council district; and prohibit any gerrymandering that would give a political edge to any party.
The maps that draw Wilde out of his district, Dole says, don't meet those criteria.
But Rasmussen says the commission has complied with each of those rules — by degrees. Some maps emphasized one principle, while other maps put the priority elsewhere. That approach, she argues, is not inconsistent with the ordinance.
"The council shall attempt to apply each principle if possible," the ordinance reads, "but, where required, harmonize them so as to satisfy requirements imposed by federal and state law and the specific requirements of [the county's rules]."
Iwamoto, whose vote for an independent redistricting commission was among the first major decisions of her inaugural term, says the board has done just what it was meant to do — even though she might find herself facing Wilde during a future election.
"I have to applaud them for all their hard work," she says. "They spent a great deal of time trying to be fair."
Of course, the council is under no obligation to accept any of the commission's plans, according to county elections director Scott Konopasek.
"We could end up going through the council and having them do what they always do anyway," he says. "We just don't know."
Twitter: Stettler_Trib —
Who's on the independent board
Republicans
Cortlund Ashton, Draper
Janice Auger Rasmussen, Taylorsville
Barbara Thomas, West Valley City
Democrats
Dennis Alexander, Murray
Tim Chambless, Salt Lake City
Christopher Katis, Murray
Julio Garcia, Salt Lake City Independent