Senate: Redistricting Committee Adopted “Senate Base Map 9/12/11″

Please redraw the north-west boundary of senate district 23 to include Centerville WEST of main street rather than east only.

For the past year, including numerous public meetings, we have heard the redistricting committee talk about principles that would guide its decisions.  This map demonstrates that, in the end, what trumps any principle is protection of incumbents.  Drawing a line through the Great Salt Lake from Brigham City into Tooele County, around several other closer population centers in Weber and Davis Counties, just to provide enough voters to fill Sen. Knudsen’s district is the very definition of “gerrymander.”  Then look at the crooked line extended around Sen. Thatcher’s house in West Valley City to include him in the district that extends out to Wendover and Dugway.  For the next ten years, you again effectively deny the seventh largest county in the state a resident senator.  No, we are not “the center of the universe,” but we expected and hoped for better than this. 

What’s up with putting part of Tooele into the Box Elder County district? Try again, please.

Just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse, this latest plan actually divides my little subdivision between 2 senate districts.  My dead end street and the cross street are separated from the rest of the subdivision.  Hopefully this can be fixed before it becomes final.

Splitting the community of Rose Park in Salt Lake City and placing them with Davis County is ignoring all the citizens who showed up at the Rose Park redistricting meeting. This map shows that the committee did not listen or care about what the citizen input. This map is proof that all of the public hearings were just a show. This is disappointing. 

[...] The Legislative Redistricting Committee voted on 9.12.11 and adopted a “Base Map” for the State Senate, which can be found here: http://www.redistrictutah.com/maps/senate-redistricting-committee-adopted-base-map-91211 [...]

Chris,  Any idea when the House map will be posted?

There’s district lines going right though the middle of West Valley, Glendale, and Rose Park…And Im not talking ‘kind of’ in the Middle, Literally Right down the middle of all the different cities on the West Side…Way to Go Council on dividing the Liberal vote, Gerrymandering at its finest.

 I hope the incumbents feel as protected, as I feel helpless in this situation…

I love how you are splitting Rose Park for two redistricting sessions in a row. Same can be said of Tooele as well. Ogden looks interesting too.

Yes, making districts is hard, but it looks like you are punishing those who already feel disfranchised with the system. 

I completely disagree with this “plan”! Besides all the small streets that will be literally split in half. You will be cutting communities in peices. We have little leagues in every sport as well as
programs that will be completely distroyed . We can not allow this to happen.
Sincerely a very scarred citizen.

umm where is the color key???

WHENS THE NEXT MEETING?! IVE NOT HEARD OF ANYTHING!!!

The fact that you got it to + or – 3 people is irrelevant – I certain
much of the population has already changed since the census. Community integrity is far more important than numbers.  With the allowed 3?% deviation flexibility more communities could remain intact.

I submitted a plan with 21 intact counties. Some of the county splits are UGLY

For example in districts containing Tooele and Wasatch, there are not even main roads to connect the opposite ends of the districts.   

livia h,
The next meeting is on the 22nd of September.  It will be held in House Building room 30 (on Capitol Hill).  For more information, go to the meetings page (http://www.redistrictutah.com/meetings/state-capitol-part-deux-sept-7-12-22).

Chris (Legislative Staff)

I am curious as to why Rose Park is divided. If “unfair” or “abuse of power” had a picture then I think this new map would be a great picture to represent those ugly words. 

This map is and its concept is unusable, we need an districts to bring
voters together.

This makes no sense to me, either.  I did my best to avoid such irrational boundaries in all of my proposals.  I think that it’s better to extend districts along major transportation routes than across impassible natural terrain.

Agreed, Robert.  Perhaps the allowed deviation in district population size is a bit too strict and I feel curious to know the reason for it.  And, yes, the Tremonton-Erda connection makes no sense to me.  In all of my proposals, I strove to extend districts along major transportation routes rather than across impassible natural terrain.

Great concerns!  Thank you for posting them.  Whenever we show politicians that they can get away with things, they will.  Let’s maintain such pressure on them to live up to their alleged principles.

I like many parts of this proposal about as well as my own final one—some better and some worse.  I find few obvious objections to it, except for the Tooele-Erda-Magna-Bingham area insanity.  Erda doesn’t belong with Box Elder County—it belongs with Tooele, whereas Bingham Canyon does not.  Please rethink these divisions.  Also, Antelope Island belongs with Syracuse more than with Farmington.

Is Utah’s state legislature harboring a weird longstanding grudge against Tooelans?  What is it about Tooele County that, whenever redistricting committee members’ hands get near it on some map, they start to draw erratic district boundaries that make little sense?  Is there a cure?  Will it be discovered in time?

WOW, why does one Provo district (is that Senate Dist 16?) go clear out to Wallsburg to the east, while leaving west Provo cut out of our community?   West Provo has been disenfranchised from the Provo/Orem senate seats for the last 10 years – it’s time to put us back with the rest of our community.  Those districts should all be shifted west so that west Provo is finally districted back in.

Yep, I kinda thought we’re still in the gerrymandering game. Nice of the committee not to disappoint me.

Sarcasm aside, I know all y’all have rationalized your behavior to yourselves. However, you’re not doing us any favors. We would like to think we’ll get fair representation in the lege, but these kinds of shenanigans are only going to satisfy the party partisans. Some of you I know personally, so I’ll tell you: I’m very disappointed.

I remember, even Becky Edwards (R) Davis County, saying, at our Westpointe CC redistricting meeting, that she didn’t want to see the Westpointe CC district split in two.  Exactly what you have done.  It’s like mixing a fruit salad with dry dog food.  They just don’t fit together.

I, personally, have been disenfranchised.

Leslie Reynolds-Benns

I respectfully ask that the state senate base map be revised to *place
west Provo in a state senate district with our sister Provo / Orem
communities*, not leave us disenfranchised in a rural district like we
have been for the past 10 years.

West Provo has spent the last 10 years in a state senate district (Dist
13) that was divided from the rest of Provo, and if the current map
prevails we will once again be disenfranchised from the rest of our
Provo community.  West Provo is slated to be placed into a southern Utah
County state senate district that includes rural interests such as
Benjamin, Elk Ridge, and West Mountain.  We do not share many
similarities with other cities in the new district, which will leave us
struggling to have our voices heard among the many other interests
within the new district.

The base map EAST Provo / Orem senate seat used to be encompassed fully
within Utah County, but will now cross county lines. *Please shift the
senate seats west so that the east seat is fully within Utah County and
the west seat includes west Provo (also fully within Utah County). *

Provo/Orem are the heart and center of Utah County.  Please keep
Orem/Provo together and fully within Utah County so that our similar
interests can be more fully represented in the state senate.

As a member of the Fairpark Community Council i find the idea perposed to split up the Rosepark area to be ludicrous has the issue involving the Rosepark Golf Course been considered ? if this propsal is adapted which City will be in control of said Golf Course and which City will receive the sales tax and which County will receive the property taxes collected. Has the effect of spliting up Community Councils ever been taken into account? to put it simply this is a bad idea. Michael Barnes at (michaelbarnes47@q.com.)

In looking at this map it is very confusing.  As a long time resident of Rose Park and  and active in the political process I think that this whole idea of splitting up Rose Park is insane.  I feel that it should be kept intact.  Either it is split at the Davis county line or it splits at 600 N.  Either way the best interset of this community is not being served.  It is bad enough that this area has been kept out of the congressional configuratin of Salt Lake for years and now to split this area up is stupid.  As a citizen I am stunned beyond belief at the stupidity of this redistricting committee. As a one that has been involved in politics for years on the grass roots level I am outraged to have my neighborhood split into 2 or 3 pieces.  It makes no sense to have Rose Park involved in Davis County politics it is an insult to the people of this community, no offense Davis County.  We are better served by having representation in our own community.  Make the dividing line at Davis County and leave Rose Park alone.

[...] This State Senate map was adopted by the Redistricting Committee on the September 27th meeting. There were some modifications made to the original State Senate Base map, which is linked here. [...]

[...] discussion turned to the previously adopted State Senate and State House maps. The maps were approved on the 12th and 22nd, [...]