Redistricting fight begins

Alexis Barker
NLJ News Editor
 
The Board of Weston County Commissioners has begun the fight to keep Weston County whole through the redistricting process that is underway in the Wyoming Legislature. Both the board and County Clerk Becky Hadlock have sent letters to the Joint Corporations Committee, and the commissioners plan to attend the Joint Corporations Committee meeting on redistricting to state the county’s case. 
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. 
“We have some issues,” Chairman Marty Ertman said on Nov. 16 during the board’s regular meeting. 
She then explained that Rep. Eric Barlow, R-Gillette, would like to keep Campbell County whole. According to Ertman, this would then divide Weston County. 
“We would like to stay whole, we have been split for 10 years,” Ertman said. 
As previously reported over the course of the past 10 years, Weston County was split in two during the last redistricting process. For the past 10 years, Senate District 1 and House District 1 include the northern half of the county while Senate District 3 and House District 2 include the county’s southern portion. 
“We have handled it, but now it is our turn to remain whole,” Ertman said. 
During the meeting, and in the letter to the committee, it is explained that the county’s population allows for 0.7 of one whole representative and 0.35 of one whole senator. Ertman said that the county would benefit from sacrificing the potential of having a Weston County senator in favor of having a guaranteed representative living in the county. 
“I think it is important that rural counties, Weston County especially, have a guaranteed representative, worst-case scenario,” Commission Tony Barton said. “That gives the opportunity to have someone represent the entire county and both school districts (Weston County School District No. 1 and Weston County School District No. 7).” 
In the letter, the commissioners and Hadlock outlined their concerns with Weston County being split for the joint committee. 
“If Weston County were to be split and a portion of the county shared with Campbell County and a portion shared with Crook County, the probability of a resident of the county being elected would be drastically reduced,” the letters say. “Each county should have the opportunity to elect a resident of their county to represent them in the legislature.” 
It notes that there is no better representation than someone who works and lives among those who they are elected to serve. 
The letter notes, and the News Letter Journal has previously reported, that Sen. Ogden Driskill, R-Devils Tower, has proposed plans that would keep Weston County whole. 
“One plan expands into the southern part of Campbell County and encompasses a sizable portion of the rural area. A second plan encompasses a route along the I-90 corridor to pick up the population necessary to create a legislative district,” the letter says. “Weston County would be amenable to either plan; however, the plan that runs along the I-90 corridor allows Campbell County to keep most of their rural population, and would have the best interest for Campbell and Weston County constituents.” 
It continues to state that with either of the plans, Campbell County has ample representation by residents living in their county while giving Crook and Weston counties the same opportunity. 
In addition to the letter to the Joint Corporations Committee, Ertman said that she believes the board needs to present itself as a united front and attend the committee meetings together, as a five-person board, to present Weston County’s case. 
“We have the ability to testify. We have the ability to fill the room, all from Weston County. We have to show up in full force at the corporations committee,” Ertman said.