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Springville • Jim Dabakis says Republicans have poorly rewarded their southern Utah constituents for their loyalty.
"They were disenfranchised," Dabakis, the state's Democratic Party chairman said Monday, pointing to the 2001 redrawing of the 2nd Congressional District, which doglegs from Salt Lake City around three sides of the state.
And he worries that Republicans plan to do it to rural Utahns again, diluting their clout in Congress by combining them with urban constituents.
Dabakis, appearing at the Springville Museum of Art, kicked off a weeklong trip through southern Utah to gather feedback on the so-called "pizza slice" plan, which would create four congressional districts that mix rural and urban voters.
Dabakis' tour will take him through 14 southern Utah communities, including Price, Moab, Richfield, Cedar City and St. George.
Utah Senate President Michael Waddoups said he has no problem with Dabakis crossing the state to talk about redistricting — as long as that's the only subject on the agenda.
"I hope he is going after it as a redistricting meeting," the Taylorsville Republican said, "rather than Republicans versus Democrats."
Dabakis said part of his mission is to show southern Utahns that Beehive State Democrats are more moderate — and Mormon-friendly — than Republicans have painted them. He plans to meet with local LDS leaders on his trip.
"But the broader effort here is to make sure the people of Utah are represented," Dabakis said. "Over the last 20 years, Democrats have received about 46-47 percent of the votes, but they get only 29 percent of the seats. That's the kind of statistics you expect to see in African and Latin-American countries that don't have democracies."
Dabakis said he wants to hear from everyone — conservatives, liberals, farmers, academics, Mormons, non-Mormons, Republicans and Democrats — on redistricting.
Kirk Jowers, director of the University of Utah's Hinckley Institute of Politics, said Dabakis' strategy is a sound one, reaching out to voters who may have been previously ignored by Democrats.
But, he warned, it could backfire.
"He will have to be articulate enough," Jowers said, "to keep it from sounding like, 'We don't want you in our district because you won't vote for us.' "
Republicans say the pizza-slice plan would ensure that the entire congressional delegation is sensitive to all the issues facing Utahns.
But Dabakis calls it gerrymandering, adding that it hurts not only Salt Lake County Democrats but also southern Utah Republicans. Dabakis argues that a member of Congress who represents solely rural Utah would have a more intimate understanding of issues, such as water rights.
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Dems' next stop
P On Tuesday, Utah Democratic Party Chairman Jim Dabakis' Red Rock Redistricing Tour will stop in Kanab, Mount Carmel, Orderville, Torrey and Richfield. It ends Thursday in St. George.