4 ms·

In Utah? Nah, farmers own the water rights, the land, and have really strong interests in power to support them.

s1artibartfast 4y ago
90+% of the population in Utah is urban. The idea that the <10% of voters run the show is absurd. Owning the water rights and the land are separate issues from political influence. That is a legal matter, not political.
- gremlinsinc 4y ago
  The governor is one of (if not) the biggest alfalfa farmers, do you think he's going to cut off his own arm to save utah, hell no!
- ejb999 4y ago
  Correct - its not that farmers have outsized voting influence - they don't - what they do have is contracts and rights that can't just be taken away without compensation. The longer states wait to buy back those water rights, the more expensive it is going to be.
- NorthOf33rd 4y ago
  Rural voters absolutely do run the show though. SLC has approximately no power in the state legislature. https://www.zipdatamaps.com/politics/state-level/districts/map-of-utah-state-house-of-representative-districts https://www.zipdatamaps.com/politics/state-level/districts/m...
  - s1artibartfast 4y ago
    Not true. Utah house and senate districts and seats are allocated based on population. It is not like the Federal senate where each state gets fixed representatives, independent of population. For example, Salt Lake country has 12/29 senate representatives. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utah_State_Legislative_districts https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utah_State_Legislative_distric...
    - NorthOf33rd 4y ago
      That'd be true if there were fair maps. But the metro has been diluted so significantly with rural voters that I stand by it, SLC has approximately no power in the legislature.
      - s1artibartfast 4y ago
        Im willing to agree jerrymandering occurs, but there is simply no mathematical way to jerrymander 90% of voters into a minority position, only pick off a seat or two. Imagine trying to fill 10 cups to 51% with one cup of water.
      - butlerm 4y ago
        Guess what? The entire Wasatch Front is predominantly urban, in fact it is one of the most urban areas in the country. It is all metro area in other words, even if not part of the SLC metro area. There are so few people in actual rural areas that if you go to a meeting where delegates are allocated by population they are few and far between. The vast majority of the population comes from four counties on the Wasatch Front - Salt Lake, Utah, Davis and Weber - and the next four counties (Washington, Cache, Tooele, and Box Elder) are predominantly urban populations as well.

90+% of the population in Utah is urban. The idea that the <10% of voters run the show is absurd. Owning the water rights and the land are separate issues from political influence. That is a legal matter, not political.

gremlinsinc 4y ago
The governor is one of (if not) the biggest alfalfa farmers, do you think he's going to cut off his own arm to save utah, hell no!
ejb999 4y ago
Correct - its not that farmers have outsized voting influence - they don't - what they do have is contracts and rights that can't just be taken away without compensation. The longer states wait to buy back those water rights, the more expensive it is going to be.
NorthOf33rd 4y ago
Rural voters absolutely do run the show though. SLC has approximately no power in the state legislature. https://www.zipdatamaps.com/politics/state-level/districts/map-of-utah-state-house-of-representative-districts https://www.zipdatamaps.com/politics/state-level/districts/m...
- s1artibartfast 4y ago
  Not true. Utah house and senate districts and seats are allocated based on population. It is not like the Federal senate where each state gets fixed representatives, independent of population. For example, Salt Lake country has 12/29 senate representatives. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utah_State_Legislative_districts https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utah_State_Legislative_distric...
  - NorthOf33rd 4y ago
    That'd be true if there were fair maps. But the metro has been diluted so significantly with rural voters that I stand by it, SLC has approximately no power in the legislature.
    - s1artibartfast 4y ago
      Im willing to agree jerrymandering occurs, but there is simply no mathematical way to jerrymander 90% of voters into a minority position, only pick off a seat or two. Imagine trying to fill 10 cups to 51% with one cup of water.
    - butlerm 4y ago
      Guess what? The entire Wasatch Front is predominantly urban, in fact it is one of the most urban areas in the country. It is all metro area in other words, even if not part of the SLC metro area. There are so few people in actual rural areas that if you go to a meeting where delegates are allocated by population they are few and far between. The vast majority of the population comes from four counties on the Wasatch Front - Salt Lake, Utah, Davis and Weber - and the next four counties (Washington, Cache, Tooele, and Box Elder) are predominantly urban populations as well.