Salt Lake Tribune
March 28, 2017
Gov. Gary Herbert, a Republican if ever there was one, has gone to some pains to do the few Democrats and many unaffiliated voters of Utah a big favor. It is a gesture that should be reciprocated.
The governor vetoed House Bill 11. That was the measure that would have removed the cap on the number of members of one political party who can be members of various state boards and commissions. If the bill became law, it would have allowed bodies such as the Air Quality Board, Water Quality Board, Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission and several lesser-known government panels to be mostly, or all, one party. In Utah, that means mostly, or all, Republicans.
But if the veto sticks, as it should, Herbert is left with the same problem he had before — finding enough people to fill out the various panels without going back to the same old Republican well.
Utahns who are of a public-spirited bent, but who may feel left out because they aren’t Republicans, now owe Herbert an active kind of thanks. It’s time for more Democrats and, especially, more of the large and growing pool of unaffiliated voters, to step up and volunteer for those positions.
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