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July 28, 2011 I The Lovell Chronicle I 15
i
BY DON AMEND
Powell Tribune
Keep the Big Horn Ba-
sin whole.
That was the message
local legislators conveyed
to the Joint Corporations,
Elections and Political Sub-
divisions Committee dur-
ing a hearing held in Pow-
ell Tuesday morning, July
12, in an effort to keep the
Big Horn Basin from losing
a seat in the Legislature due
to reapportionment.
"We would like the com-
mittee to consider keeping
the Basin whole," said Rep.
Lorraine Quarberg, R-Ther-
mopolis, who represents Hot
Springs and parts of south
Big Horn County.
Sen. Hank Coe, R-Cody,
also asked the committee to
keep the seat in the Basin.
He told the committee that
the four counties in the Big
Horn Basin produce 39 per-
cent of the oil produced in
Wyoming, and they have ag-
riculture interests in com-
mon. In addition, the entire
Basin is part of a proposed
Resource Management Plan
by the Bureau of Land Man-
agement, which could have
a major impact on jobs and
development. He also noted
that geography tends to iso-
late the Basin from the rest
of Wyoming.
"The Big Horn Basin is
a unique place," Coe told the
committee, and speaking
for the Park County repre-
sentatives, he added, '%Ve're
working for the whole Basin,
not just Park County."
Committee member Sen.
Charles Scott, R-Casper,
agreed with Coe that the
Basin is a "logical region,"
but said the region was 300
to 400 people short ofrequir-
ing the six House Districts it
presently comprises, based
on population figures and
guidelines set by the courts
-- and that would only bring
the districts ta the bare min-
imum size.
To maintain the one-
man, one-vote standard
set by the courts, the ideal
House district in the state
should have 9,394 residents,
and the maximum variance
from that figure would be 10
percent between the high-
est and lowest district state-
wide, meaning each district
must be within 5 percent of
that ideal, whether above or
below.
While the 5 percent devi-
ation is acceptable, commit-
tee members would prefer
the deviation be as small as
possible. What local legisla-
tors were asking is that the
committee accept deviations
close to 5 percent below the
ideal for Big Horn Basin dis-
tricts, and suggested they
might ask for an exception
to the 5 percent standard.
Quarberg said the draw-
ing from the Shoshoni area
is the most practical way to
add population to the Basin.
The only other options are
and a large majority of them
have no pop .ulation.
Case also noted that
Quarberg's plan would have
people living within 10 miles
County School District No.
1 and the closely related
towns of Basin and Grey-
bull, who share a hospital
district, as well as Willwood
and other areas tied to Paw-
ell and Park County. But
Harvey urged the committee
to keep the representation of
the four counties within the
Basin.
"Don't break up the Big
Horn Basin," Harvey said.
"It's important to keep us to-
gether."
Big Horn County Com-
missioner Keith Grant
joined area legislators in de-
fending the request that the
Childers said the Ba-
sin's representatives would
continue discussions and
will have public meetings
and hearings in an effort to
develop an acceptable plan
for keeping the Basin's rep-
resentation.
"It's important that the
people participate," Childers
said. "We'll give you some
sound data."
In response to a ques-
tion from Quarberg, Case
said the committee will
meet again in August, but
would not be taking action
on a plan to present to the
Legislature. Scott, howev-
(
to reach across the Big Horn of Riverton in the same dis- Legislature accept close to er, said he would be pre-
Committee members Mountains to Sheridan or trict as people in south Big the maximum deviation be-pared to make motions with t:
said they would be very re- Johnson counties, or to aHorn County, possibly via- low the ideal in redistrict- regard to making part of
luctant to grant such an ex- northern Teton County area lating another of the Legis- ing the Basin. Grant spoke Fremont County available,
ception, and Scott said doing that includes a small num- lature's principles, that dis- of predictions of an oil boom depending what he sees in li
so likely would bring a law- ber of people living in Yel- tricts reflect a community of in the Basin, based on new Quarberg's proposal.
suit challenging the reap-
portionment.
Of the six districts in
the Basin, only District 25,
represented by Rep. Dave
Banner, R-Powell, is within
the 5 percent margin. House
District 50, represented by
Rep. Pat Childers, R-Cody,
is 6.75 percent above the ide-
al and all the rest are below,
ranging from 5.89 percent
in District 26, represented
by Rep. Elaine Harvey, R-
Lovell, to nearly 16 percent
in District 28, represented
by Quarberg.
To address that short-
fall, reapportionment will
have to draw population
from outside the Big Horn
Basin, even though the
Legislature would prefer
to consider significant geo-
graphical features, such as
mountains, when redrawing
districts.
Quarberg presented a
plan for reapportionment
in the Basin that would in-
clude two Fremont County
election districts into the
population base. The two
districts, which would in-
clude the towns of Shoshoni
and Lysite, would add more
than 700 people and enable
the districts in the Basin to
be redrawn equitably, al-
though they still would be
below the ideal.
lowstone Park, due to the re-
quirement that Legislative
districts be contiguous.
Even with the addition
of the Fremont County vot-
ers, however, districts in the
Basin would still be close to
the 5 percent deviation from
the ideal.
Committee members
generally accepted Quar-
berg's efforts positively, but
cautioned that it might not
resolve the problem.
"This is an example of
why local people should de-
velop these plans," Scott
said. "But having said that,
we have to live within the
court limits."
Sen. Cale Case, R-Land-
er, the co-chairman of the
committee, complimented
Quarberg on her work, but
said "the devil is in the de-
tails."
Referring to the Legis-
lature's other principles for
reapportionment, Case said,
' When you look at census
blocks, which you can't di-
vide, and election districts,
which you shouldn't divide,
this might not work."
interest.
The community of inter-
est principle also brought an
objection from Jack Turnell
of Meeteetse because Quar-
berg s plan pulls the Mee-
teetse area into her district.
"I've nothing against
Thermopolis, but people in
Meeteetse don't know peo-
ple in Thermop," Turnell
said. "We do 90 percent of
our business with Powell,
Cody and Lovell. That's our
center."
Turnell added Meetee-
tse's connection with North-
west College and said he
felt the area would be better
represented by being includ-
ed in Park County.
In later testimony re-
sponding to Turnell's objec-
tions, Banner, Harvey and
Childers all emphasized
that they work together for
the good of the entire Basin,
not solely for their districts.
Citing the fact that the
Willwood area, part of the
Powell community, is rep-
resented by Harvey, Ban-
ner said, "I don't check the
address of a constituent
Census blocks are the who contacts me. We ar¢ all
smallest units used in tak- working together to "m*/ ke
ing the national census, things work for the Big Horn
In towns and cities, theyBasin."
are typically city blocks orHarvey echoed Banner,
neighborhoods. In rural ar- noting her district splits the
eas, they are much larger, town of Frannie, Big Horn
technologies in the next
three to five years, which
would increase population.
Rep. Mike Greear (R-
Worland) spoke of an effort
to develop agriculture land
west of the Big Horn River
in northern Washakie and
southern Big Horn counties
that could bring more popu-
lation growth.
Both Scott and Case
praised the Big Horn Ba-
sin delegation's efforts to
address the situation, and
Case recommended that
Quarberg make use of the
resources available from
the Legislature's staff.
The committee held an-
other meeting in Worland
the same evening.
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