New redistricters sworn in, have first unanimous vote - on co-chairs

Idaho’s new citizen redistricting commission has been sworn in by Secretary of State Ben Ysursa, who greeted the six new commissioners, saying, “Good morning, all of you, welcome. I facetiously was telling some of you that I thought you were smarter than this, to be on this commission.” He said, “You have a daunting task in front of you. … It may be unfair to you, but time is of the essence. … We need to have a plan in place as quickly as we can, a legally defensible plan. … I commend you for your willingess to serve.”

The six commissioners then unanimously elected their new co-chairs: Dolores Crow from the Republican side, and Ron Beitelspacher from the Democratic side. Both are former longtime state legislators. “See how easy it is to get a unanimous vote?” asked Legislative Services Director Jeff Youtz.