Four East Side mayors are urging the state to implement districting in “its strongest possible form,” including a special election to wipe all Summit County Council seats clean this November.
Mayors Mark Marsh of Coalville, Kay Richins of Henefer, Jeremie Forman of Francis and Matt McCormick of Kamas in April sent a letter to Gov. Spencer Cox and state Legislature leadership expressing their “strong support” for House Bill 356.
The bill changes how Summit County’s governing body is elected. The new law requires Summit County to implement geographical districts for council seats instead of having five at-large councilors.
Cox signed the bill in March, and he said he intends to call a special session to make adjustments to it because of “unintended consequences.” For example, Wasatch County has both at-large seats and councilors elected in districts, but the new legislation forces Wasatch County to eliminate the at-large positions.
The original version of the bill would have also required all councilors to end their terms early and forced an election — with all the seats tied to the new geographical districts — this year.
That language was later removed from the final version of the bill, however, and state legislators determined current county councilors will be assigned to the new districts by lot until the next scheduled election.
Now, though, four of the municipal mayors are campaigning for the Legislature to reintroduce the language mandating a special election, claiming it’s a necessary step to ensure “fair and equal representation” for Summit County residents.
“The bill embodies a core democratic principle — equal representation for all citizens — by guaranteeing that no area is disproportionately represented or effectively silenced in local government decisions,” the April 14 letter states. “The intent of the bill is not only just, but necessary to maintain the public’s trust in the fairness of our institutions.”
The Summit County Republican Party, to which all four mayors belong, has praised the legislation, saying it ensures better representation for the East Side, which tends to lean more conservative than Park City and the Snyderville Basin. All the current county councilors are Democrats, and a Republican hasn’t been elected to a seat since 2016.
County officials have been vocal about their displeasure with the bill, and criticized the state Legislature’s decision to pass it three minutes before the midnight deadline on the last day of the general session, along with a number of other last-minute bills. The County Council has also expressed concerns about the logistics of implementing districts and philosophical issues regarding state overreach and interference.
And the local Republican Party has criticized the council for its desire to amend the bill to allow a few at-large seats, a sentiment echoed in the mayors’ letter.
“Unfortunately, the urgency and importance of H.B. 356 has become even more evident in light of Summit County’s active efforts to circumvent the spirit and letter of this legislation,” the letter says. “Their actions highlight a troubling disregard for representative balance and make clear that without a mandate for immediate implementation, including a special election for all council seats, the people’s voice will continue to be stifled in Summit County.”
The letter continues: “Allowing elected officials to continue serving under a system that was never intended to be permanent, fair or representative only prolongs the inequity H.B. 356 is designed to fix. Instituting an immediate special election would be a necessary and powerful measure to restore trust, accountability and representation to Summit County government. Without it, reform could be delayed indefinitely, and counties like Summit County could continue to exploit the gaps in the current system.”
The Summit County Democratic Party, meanwhile, has expressed concerns about potential gerrymandering, pointing out the four mayors who signed the letter are voting members of the county districting commission.
The county districting commission, which is required by law to begin meeting “on or before June 1,” will determine the five Summit County districts based on state requirements. The commission consists of the six municipal mayors within the county and one representative from unincorporated Summit County who will be appointed by the County Council.
County Clerk Eve Furse will also sit on the commission as a non-voting member.
The districting commission must ensure that the newly drawn boundaries comply with state and federal law. Essentially, each district needs to have roughly the same population with only a 10% deviation based on numbers obtained from the most recent census.
The districts are also required to be “contiguous and reasonably compact” and cannot divide existing voter precincts.
The districting commission needs to present a proposed map of district boundaries to the County Council on or before Oct. 1. The County Courthouse will then need to schedule a public hearing within 30 days of the presentation.
However, Summit County Chief Civil Deputy Dave Thomas in April called the hearing “legally [a] sham” because the County Council will be responsible for approving the boundary map after the public hearing despite not having the power to change H.B. 356 or the districting process.
He also said he expects Cox to call a special session the third week of May, but the governor has not yet made any announcements confirming a date.