Weber County’s GOP legislators commend US House of Representatives redistribution plan | News, sports, jobs

Clockwise from top left: Utah Reps. Rosemary Lesser, a Democrat; and Cal Musselman, Steve Waldrip, and Kelly Miles, Republicans. The three GOPers voted for the U.S. House of Representatives’ redistribution plan for Utah on November 9, 2021, but Lesser did not.

The map on the left shows the US House of Representatives counties in Utah under the redistribution plan approved by the Utah House on November 9, 2021 and the day after the Utah Senate. Governor Spencer Cox has yet to sign the plan. The map on the right shows the four districts in their current configuration.

The Utah House counties in Weber County as per the proposed Utah House reallocation plan, approved by Legislature on November 10, 2021.

Photos supplied, Utah House

Clockwise from top left: Utah Reps. Rosemary Lesser, a Democrat; and Cal Musselman, Steve Waldrip, and Kelly Miles, Republicans. The three GOPers voted for the U.S. House of Representatives’ redistribution plan for Utah on November 9, 2021, but Lesser did not.

OGDEN – The new Congressional boundaries approved by Utah lawmakers this week could catch fire on some.

But for some of the Weber County’s GOP members to the Utah Legislature who voted for the change, the new lines are a step forward to better represent Utah in Washington DC, the state’s most populous county, as well rural areas in the more distant parts of the state beyond the Wasatch Front.

Steve Waldrip, Representative from Utah, says it is beneficial for each district to represent such a mix as each member of the US House of Representatives focuses on issues that matter to both rural and urban areas . Waldrip, a Republican from the Eden area, voted for the redistribution plan, which was signed by Governor Spencer Cox on Friday.

The fact that there are both rural and urban constituencies prevents lawmakers from focusing on one “at the expense of the other,” Waldrip said.

Cal Musselman of Utah, a Republican from West Haven, repeated this. He also voted in favor of the proposal – drawn up by the Utah Legislative Redistricting Committee, made up of Utah lawmakers – and sees the configuration as a way to maximize representation. “Each representative has a mix of county and country wards, town and bedroom wards, and downtown wards,” Musselman said.

Images provided to the Office of the Lieutenant Governor of Utah and

The map on the left shows the US House of Representatives counties in Utah under the redistribution plan approved by the Utah House on November 9, 2021 and the Utah Senate the day after. Governor Spencer Cox has yet to sign the plan. The map on the right shows the four districts in their current configuration.

Some critics say Salt Lake County’s four-way division is a political maneuver to dilute the influence of the Democratic-minded area by grouping each quadrant with more GOP-oriented areas outside of its boundaries.

Utah MP Rosemary Lesser, a Democrat from Ogden, voted against Congressional redistribution plan, House Bill 2004. Rural and urban areas are very different, she said, calling for representatives to be attentive to needs.

“Salt Lake County’s needs are very different from Blanding’s, although I recognize that both are important,” she said, referring to the small town in San Juan County. She believes that lawmakers should have chosen one of the proposals made by the Utah Independent Redistricting Commission, an independent agency that created various redistribution plans for scrutiny by Utah lawmakers.

With the change described in HB 2004, the 1st District, which includes Ogden and Weber Counties, extends to parts of northern and eastern Salt Lake City. Lost is the swath east of Salt Lake County, which includes Park City and the Uintah Basin area, which is folded into the 3rd District.

United States MP Blake Moore, who lives in Salt Lake City, has a home outside of District 1, although its borders extend into the state capital, according to Utah MP Kelly Miles, a Republican from the South Ogden area. But that’s not an issue for him or Waldrip, and in fact, residency in the district a member of the US House of Representatives represents is not a legal requirement.

Image provided to Utah Legislative Redistricting Committee

The Utah House counties in Weber County as per the proposed Utah House reallocation plan, approved by Legislature on November 10, 2021.

Waldrip praised Moore’s service and said he was “very involved” in the diverse areas of the 1st District.

“DOESN’T KEEP DRAMATICALLY CHANGED”

The map of Utah house districts within Weber County, as in the rest of the state, changes per reorganization outlined in the House Bill 2005 from population shifts across Utah based on the number of US Census Bureau employees for 2020.

“They haven’t changed dramatically,” said Waldrip. But they shifted, reflecting faster population growth south in the counties of Utah and Washington.

District 8, which Waldrip represents, now extends north of North Ogden and a small section of Morgan County, but no longer extends as far as Harrisville. District 11, which Miles represents, penetrated deeper into Davis Counties into the Layton and Sunset areas, with a smaller section in Weber County.

District 10, represented by Lesser, moved south and now includes parts of Washington Terrace and Riverdale.

When members of the Utah Legislative Redistricting Committee met for a public session in Ogden in September, some locals asked if it made sense to divide Ogden into six wards of Utah House. This, some of the speakers said, can dilute the city’s representation in the Utah legislature.

According to the reclassification outlined in HB 2005, the city is divided into only five house districts, one less than the current regulation. But Lesser, who voted against HB in 2005, thinks it doesn’t go far enough.

She will move away from the reallocation issue but believes the city would be better served with fewer representatives, maybe two or three, to oversee larger parts of the city. Thus, the city would have representatives who are much more oriented towards Ogden’s different needs.

Musselman, who voted for HB in 2005, disagrees. It is advantageous to have to represent different cities, as this forces the legislature to “think holistically”, that is, to take into account the needs of the broader community. Besides, Ogden is not alone. Roy, he said, is divided into three wards of Utah House, while West Haven is divided into two wards.

Additionally, it is in the interests of leaders in the area to consider Ogden as it defines other neighboring cities and its dominance in the region’s economy. “The towns around Ogden are all rising and falling from Ogden’s health,” Musselman said.

Waldrip said several lawmakers representing parts of a city are giving it a bigger voice in Salt Lake City.

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