County pleads redistricting case

Alexis Barker
NLJ News Editor
 
Weston County residents still aren’t any closer to knowing if the county will remain whole during the redistricting process currently underway in the Wyoming Legislature. Remaining whole means the county’s voters would have a representative living in the county, as several individuals noted in their pleas to the Joint Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivision Committee on Dec. 1. 
Redistricting, according to the Legislative Service Office, is the process of redrawing the geographic boundaries of an area from which people are elected as representatives to the Legislature. Under the Wyoming Constitution, the Legislature is required to complete the process before the first budget session following each U.S. census to reflect shifts in population. 
The plan will be adopted by the full Legislature during the 2022 budget session, scheduled to begin Feb. 14. Before final approval, several potential plans are submitted and reviewed across the state and the Joint Corporations Committee is tasked with preparing a plan to present to the Legislature. 
Based on the most recent census, Weston County has the population to afford it 0.7 of a representative, while Crook County has the population to afford it 0.75 of a representative, according to Sen. Ogden Driskill, R-Devils Tower. Both counties are currently in Region 6 with Campbell County, which could have 4.8 or 4.9 representatives based on population. 
“The way it lays out in our (Region 6) district …, there are enough population for three senators and six representatives plus some,” Driskill told the committee. 
He noted that the region’s senators and representatives could not come to an agreement on a plan to present to the committee, so he was presenting his plan prior to that of Rep. Eric Barlow, R-Gillette. 
Driskill’s plan, he said, would provide both Weston and Crook counties with a full representative, by taking between 2,000 and 2,400 people out of Campbell County for each of the two to become full. This would give each of the counties in Region 6 one representative in their boundaries, although Campbell County would have four. 
“In the plan 10 years ago, Weston County was the grunt, they were cut into pieces,” Driskill said. 
He added that following the resignation of former Rep. Hans Hunt, R-Newcastle, Weston County was left without a representative living in the county when the commissioners from Goshen, Niobrara and Weston counties appointed a Niobrara County resident to fill the vacant seat. 
“At this point in time, Weston has no senator or representative within the county. We promised we would put them back together,” Driskill said. “Every county is desperate to have at least one representative, if not more.” 
“It goes back to the rules and principals. … Every county should have a rep. … The founders wanted every county to have a rep,” Driskill continued. 
Driskill wasn’t the only person to present Weston County’s case to the committee. Weston County Commissioners Marty Ertman, Ed Wagoner and Don Taylor all were present at the meeting to speak on the county’s behalf, as well as Weston County Republican Party Vice-Chair Allen Slagle; Rep. Chip Neiman, R-Sundance; and Sen. Cheri Steinmetz, R-Lingle.
“We would ask that we do stay whole,” Ertman said, noting that the county had been
in an interesting position the past 10 years,
with two representatives holding a seat in half of the county. 
Both Taylor and Wagoner echoed her thoughts. Taylor said that, as a commissioner and citizen, he would like to see a representative for Weston County that could be seen in the community on a regular basis, someone who is accessible to the public. 
“The map drawn by Driskill feels comfortable,” Ertman concluded. 
“I’ve seen the plan change multiple times as we had the region meetings, and I appreciate the ideas. The whole idea was for the region to figure out what works, and I think that is a good plan,” Slagle said. “Driskill’s plan here helps Weston County, I understand it isn’t ideal for Campbell County because they are losing people, but I have seen other plans where Weston County is again split.”
Both Neiman and Steinmetz also took to the podium to express their desire to see Weston County remain whole and receive their share of representation in Cheyenne. 
“Not everyone is going to win at this, but look at the opportunity. We take a little bit from a county that has four representatives and provide both of those counties (Crook and Weston) with one. It is a good opportunity for rural representation and my communities appreciate that,” Neiman said. 
Both Neiman and Steinmetz, who currently represent a portion of Weston County, said that they can attest to the fact that as representatives living outside of the county, they have little opportunity to meet with citizens casually. 
“I don’t run into them. I don’t interact on a daily basis,” Steinmetz said. 
“I want to give them the best representation they can get, and I support their desire to be made whole,” she said. 
Despite the several pleas to keep Weston and Crook counties whole, Barlow presented his plan for Region 6. His plan would have Crook and Weston sharing a representative and a portion of Weston County’s population joining a district to the south. 
According to Barlow, his plan would keep all three districts in the 5% deviation from population allowed by law, something that is breached in Driskill’s plan. 
“I have no malice against Weston or Crook counties. There may be another way to approach this,” he said. “Region 6 is 5.8% over, there has to be some discussion about that. This is a statewide issue.” 
Because of disputes for redistricting in Region 6 and other areas in the state, the committee did not have an agreed-upon map to present to the Legislature in December as they had hoped. The group did come up with one map that will be the starting point of discussions during their Dec. 14 committee meeting. 
This map has Weston County split in half, sharing a representative with Crook County and another with various counties to the south and southwest. This map does not include either of the proposed Region 6 plans presented during the Dec. 1 meeting.  
Several individuals on the committee acknowledged that not everyone is going to be happy with the plan chosen and that it is likely that changes to the redistricting plan will be made up until the day of its final approval during the budget session.