Push for 4th seat has its detractors

Ex-lawmaker cites constitutional issues
By Deborah Bulkeley and Suzanne StruglinskiDeseret Morning News
As Utah's governor and the state's entire congressional delegation push for a fourth seat in the House of Representatives, a former state lawmaker is pushing an online petition against the idea, citing constitutional concerns. Matt Throckmorton said his concerns surround a bill, HR5388, which would create an additional at-large seat for Utah, and create a seat for Washington, D.C. Throckmorton said the Constitution reserves congressional seats for states. So, Throckmorton recommends a constitutional amendment, similar to the 23rd Amendment, which gave the District of Columbia a presidential vote. "Anything worth doing is worth doing right," said Throckmorton, who served two terms in the Utah House and unsuccessfully challenged GOP Congressman Chris Cannon in 2002 and 2004. The bill "sets a very uncomfortable precedence. ... If we amend the Constitution without amending it, where do we stand?" The petition, online at www.amendnotbend.com, had 126 signatures as of Monday, including a couple of current and past state lawmakers, and former Salt Lake County District Attorney Neal Gunnarson. While a few of the signers had opposed the idea of the Washington seat in general, most comments echoed Throckmorton's constitutional concerns.

State Rep. Margaret Dayton, R-Orem, said she signed the petition even though she believes Utah deserves a fourth congressional seat. "We were gypped unfairly out of that fourth seat," Dayton said. "My concern, however, is we are not following exactly the constitutional direction for doing so." The constitutional issue was among those addressed at a congressional hearing Thursday, at which Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. testified in favor of the bill. And supporters say the constitutional questions have been addressed. "Gov. Jon Huntsman, who testified at yesterday's hearing on the Utah-D.C. vote bill, the three Utah House members, and I have done our due diligence on the constitutional issues and on the views of the people we represent," said Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, who represents the District of Columbia in Congress. "The opinion of constitutional experts is that Congress is fully authorized to give an additional seat to Utah and to the District of Columbia." David Marin, spokesman for Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., added that "any and all public debate" is welcome, as is the attention to the issue. "In this case, however, we're pretty confident in the rigorous constitutional analysis the bill has received from our staff and outside experts like Ken Starr, Viet Dinh, and Adam Charnes, among others." The idea behind the bill is that granting a seat to Utah, which would likely go to a Republican, and another to heavily Democratic Washington, D.C., wouldn't upset the balance of power. Utah fell 857 people short of a fourth congressional seat following the 2000 Census. Utah's politicians have long said Utah was denied the seat only because the state's residents living abroad weren't counted, largely the population serving missions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The state also unsuccessfully challenged in court a counting method by the U.S. Census Bureau that Utah contends violates the Constitution. Demographers have said Utah's growth since the 2000 Census will almost certainly result in a seat in 2010. The bill, as written, would create an at-large seat until the 2012 election, after which boundaries for four congressional districts would be drawn. Throckmorton said he's not opposed to the idea of a fourth seat, he's just opposed to the process. Throckmorton said he and a handful of Republican delegates set up a petition as a way of letting lawmakers know not all Utahns support the bill. He's not targeting any specific lawmakers and acknowledged he likely wouldn't be able to change any Utahns' minds. "The issue is not giving Utah a fourth seat or giving 600,000 people (in Washington) a seat," he said. "We'll get there." But Charles Isom, spokesman for Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, said while he appreciates the petitioners' opinions, it makes sense to create Utah's fourth seat sooner rather than later. Isom said if Utah waited until 2012 to get its new seat based on the population taken after the next Census, it would miss out an having a member that would gain seniority between now and then.
E-mail: dbulkeley@desnews.com