A new map of Idaho
BOISE - A reconvened Idaho redistricting commission agreed Friday to new legislative maps that its members hope will end a tumultuous two weeks of dispute that fractured members of the Republican Party.
The plan, which won a 6-0 vote, splits up just seven counties. That's a nod to the Idaho Supreme Court, which rejected the plan commissioners agreed to in October on grounds it divided 12 counties, too many to meet constitutional muster.
Democratic redistricting commission chairman Ron Beitelspacher was unhappiest with three new districts because of their unwieldy size, including one stretching from 11 miles from the Oregon border hundreds of miles east to Montana. Still, he said constitutional constraints imposed by justices, coupled with Idaho's irregular shape and unevenly distributed population, left panelists little leeway.
"I don't have a clue," Beitelspacher said, when asked by a reporter how many legislators will face incumbents in the May 15 primary. "I'm sure somebody will know tomorrow."
He said the plan was crafted without efforts to protect incumbents or political parties - just like voters intended in 1994 when they approved a constitutional amendment removing redistricting from lawmakers and putting it in the hands of a bipartisan commission that was supposed to be more independent.
These 35 new districts come after days of fierce GOP infighting - accompanied by critical newspaper editorials from former GOP Gov. Phil Batt. He accused House Speaker Lawerence Denney and state Republican Chairman Norm Semanko of trying to sway the process to the advantage of hardcore Republicans, over the broad interests of Idaho residents.
Semanko and Denney had filed a lawsuit in a bid to fire Republican redistricting commissioners Randy Hansen and Dolores Crow, at least in part for not sticking up for partisan interests. The Idaho Supreme Court rejected Semanko's and Denney's bid to intervene.
On Friday, Semanko sought to give his side of the story on why he sought to reshuffle the panel.
"The map they approved invited charges of gerrymandering, as it appeared to favor special interests," Semanko wrote in a letter to Idaho newspapers. "I firmly believed that it was in the best interest of the state to appoint a new commissioner to move the process forward."
The drama may not be over.
This new plan still must pass Idaho Supreme Court muster, should somebody successfully challenge it, much like Twin Falls County did the last one on grounds it split too many counties.
And this new plan, drafted following completion of the 2010 U.S. Census to preserve one-person, one-vote principles, will result in significant changes for the 2013 Legislature. It places at least 32 sitting representatives and senators in 10 of the 35 districts into potential primaries with incumbents, most of them Republicans.
Notable primary conflicts in the Idaho Senate could include GOP matchups between Dean Cameron and Denton Darrington in southern Idaho; Patti Anne Lodge against Melinda Smyser in southwestern Idaho; and Shirley McKague and Chuck Winder in Meridian.
Meanwhile, House Majority Leader Mike Moyle was placed in a district west of Boise where he could face Republican Reps. Reed DeMordaunt and Marv Hagedorn; Assistant Majority Leader Scott Bedke is matched up against Reps. Bert Stevenson and Fred Wood near Burley; and House Majority Caucus Chairman Ken Roberts of Donnelly may be forced to vie for re-election with three party mates, Reps. Carlos Bilbao, Lenore Barrett and Steve Thayn, unless one or more of them bows out of the May election.
Spared a primary battle with an incumbent was Denney. In the previous plan, the one that he so strongly objected to, the House leader had been placed in a five-way GOP election.
Beitelspacher said he's particularly displeased with the shape and size of the new District 8, which includes the potential four-way GOP primary between Roberts, Bilbao, Barrett and Thayn and covers five rural, mountainous counties in the state's center: Valley, Gem, Boise, Lemhi and Custer.
"It's horrible," Beitelspacher noted, adding the justices' requirement for the commissioners to split only a minimum of counties resulted in the vast, sparsely populated district.
In addition to Beitelspacher, Hansen and Crow, other redistricting commissioners who supported the plan were Republicans Sheila Olsen of Idaho Falls and Democrats Shauneen Grange of Boise and Elmer Martinez of Pocatello.