The views expressed in this column are the opinion of the writer and not necessarily those of the ownership or management of this newspaper.

Generally I am apprehensive about citizen initiatives. Why go to the bother of electing representatives if we ignore them and make an end run around them?

But the Fair Boundaries Initiative makes perfect sense. It’s the best way to protect the voting process from the partisan grasps of the political parties.

There are a number of incidents of seamy gerrymandering in Utah. Earlier this decade, for instance, a Republican legislator I was working for received a stronger-than-anticipated challenge from an ultra-conservative candidate who lived near his neighborhood. The legislator’s answer was to carve out a meandering boundary line that placed his neighbor in a different legislative district.

On a statewide basis, it was also party games that took parts of Salt Lake County out of Rep. Jim Matheson’s urban district and replaced it with rural Republicans in southern Utah. Matheson still won, but it dramatically drove up the costs of campaigning, with print, radio, and TV ads now necessary in both the Wasatch Front and the St. George markets.

The argument for Utah Republicans is that in mixing and matching rural and urban voters, the “typical” Utahn is represented rather than a district comprised of city folk or one populated by turkey farmers. The “typical” Utahn argument is bogus; that’s what the U.S. Senate is for, men and women representing an entire state and its hodge-podge demographics. In contrast, the U.S. House is designed to represent more distinct population groups. It makes sense that a liberal Salt Lake City would opt for a Democrat whereas a Republican would better represent Sagebrush Rebellion voters in Kane County. That’s not only fair, it’s also true representation.

But politicians have a hard time with fairness when their own ox can be gored. Rather than let the free-thinkers in Park City elect a House member, it is easier to divide up the area and combine it with more conservative communities. After all, the votes of two ranchers are more powerful than a vote from a pub owner.

Redistricting occurs when population cores gain or lose residents. It’s a natural process. If enough Utahns sign the initiative petitions, the boundaries would be proposed by a bi-partisan, supposedly non-political “blue ribbon panel” made up of people who don’t have a political horse in the race.

That’s the way it should be. Democrats shouldn’t be able to play games with the electoral map and neither should Republicans.

The Democrats played the gerrymandering game in California. Ronald Reagan put an end to it – now it’s Utah’s turn. It is pure common sense to everyone except the guy who doesn’t want his neighbor challenging him in the election.