Better Boundaries Podcast

Kyle Friant speaks with Millcreek City Council Rep Silvia Catten . Millcreek has been sliced into four U.S. Congressional districts currently. They discuss the challenges and issues a gerrymandered community faces from the perspective of a city leader. 

Interview with Hoang Nguyen who is officially endorsed by the Better Boundaries Accountability PAC which supports candidates with a commitment to community based redistricting. Hoang is a candidate for House District 23 to replace incumbent Brian King. 

Kyle Friant is joined by appellate attorney Troy Booher with the firm Zimmerman and Booher.   Troy is among the attorneys who gave time and expertise supporting the plaintiffs with this important litigation to fight gerrymandering. The discussion focuses on the supplemental briefing order from the Utah Supreme Court and the subsequent filings from the plaintiffs and defendants. We hope you enjoy this episode. 

Noah Rosenberg has been with the Better Boundaries organization since the beginning. He started as a signature gatherer for Proposition 4, went on as the Deputy Director of the statewide campaign in 2018, served as Executive Director of Better Boundaries and now serves on the Board of Directors. Noah tells the story of how we got to where we are now with a pending hearing before the Utah Supreme Court. Noah is currently studying law at UC Berkley, works as an associate with the law firm of Jenner & Block in San Francisco and co-leads the Political Election and Empowerment Project, which provides pro-bono assistance for redistricting advocacy and litigation nationwide. READ THE COMPLAINT:  https://betterboundaries.org/wp-content/uploads/Plaintiffs_-Complaint.pdfDAVID REYMANN PODCAST:  https://www.buzzsprout.com/1850068/12623140-litigation-update-on-gerrymandering-case-with-david-reymann DONATE TO SUPPORT THE LITIGATION: https://secure.everyaction.com/Rj6JBAF_X0qIWeLDz7ZLLQ2

Former Utah County Clerk/Auditors Amelia Powers Gardner and Josh Daniels join Kyle Friant to discuss their time serving in Utah County and how they transformed the Utah County Clerk/ Auditor office from being called "the epicenter of dysfunction" into improving election efficiency and making global headlines for taking marriage licensing online during the pandemic. This is a two part episode. We hope you enjoy. 

Former Utah County Clerk/Auditors Amelia Powers Gardner and Josh Daniels join Kyle Friant to discuss their time serving in Utah County and how they transformed the Utah County Clerk/ Auditor office from being called "the epicenter of dysfunction" into improving election efficiency and making global headlines for taking marriage licensing online during the pandemic. This is a two part episode. We hope you enjoy. 

Our guest is former state of  Utah Director of Elections and former Heber City Mayor Kelleen Potter. Kelleen currently serves as Executive Director of Utah Ranked Choice Voting. Host Kyle Friant and Kelleen discuss election integrity, how Utah elections have evolved over the years and some of the challenges facing the election process in Utah-including the introduction of ranked choice voting. We hope you enjoy this episode!

Continuing our series of discussions with elections officials, Kyle Friant is joined by Summit County Clerk Eve Furse. The two discuss Eve's background before she held elected office and a broad range of issues related to her role in Summit County including the challenges related to having multiple congressional districts in her county. We hope you enjoy this episode. 

We are joined by attorney David Reymann.  David is a trial attorney with Parr, Brown, Gee, and Loveless and is one of the plaintiffs' several lawyers in the Utah gerrymandering case. With multiple motions to stay, dismiss, and now to appeal, we want to be sure our supporters understand where the litigation stands and where it is headed. Enjoy this episode.

As part of our commitment to ensuring transparent and accountable government, Better Boundaries followed and mobilized on legislation which would limit the ability of voters to reform their government. In this episode, we are joined by Taylor Morgan of Morgan & May Public Affairs. Taylor is a political consultant for Better Boundaries and was up on capitol hill tracking the significant number of election-related bills the legislature considered. We hope you enjoy this episode. 

With a number of filings this past November, more delay tactics from the defendants and a ruling from the bench, David Reymann from Parr Brown and an attorney for the plaintiffs joins us to with an update on Utah's gerrymandering lawsuit. 

In this episode we give a quick update on Utah's anti-gerrymandering lawsuit and speak again with Kyle Friant to provide an overview of Utah's County Clerk races.  County Clerks are elected officials on the front lines of ensuring our constitutional right to vote is honored. We'll discuss the responsibilities of County Clerks, and some of the races here in Utah. 

A short episode focused on the Better Boundaries Accountability PAC endorsed candidates. Today we speak with Dr. Rosemary Lesser who is running for Utah House District 10.

A short episode focused on the Better Boundaries Accountability PAC endorsed candidates. Today we speak with Clare Collard who is running for Utah House District 27.

A short episode focused on the Better Boundaries Accountability PAC endorsed candidates. Today we speak with Dr. Suzanne Harrison who is running for an at large Salt Lake County seat. 

In this episode we discuss the founding purpose and strategy of the Better Boundaries PAC.  We are joined by Better Boundaries Organizing director Kyle Friant. Kyle leads our PAC efforts and is a self-proclaimed political junkie.

As we reported in an earlier episode, the defendants in Utah's anti-gerrymandering case filed a motion to stay that was denied by Utah's Third Judicial Court. Their motion cited a North Carolina redistricting case that will be heard by the US Supreme Court. Today, to discuss the implications of the North Carolina case, Moore vs Harper, we're fortunate to have Mr. Rick Pildes, Sudler Family Professor of Constitutional Law at NYU's School of Law. He is one of the nation's leading experts on the constitution and a specialist in legal issues concerning democracy. We hope you enjoy the episode. 

This episode of the Better Boundaries' podcast features attorneys  Mark Gaber and Hayden Johnson from Campaign Legal Center. Mark, Senior Director of Redistricting, and Hayden, Legal Fellow, are representing the plaintiffs, MWEG and LWVUT, along with 7  individuals in Utah's case against gerrymandering. We hope you enjoy.

We expand our Utah political reform conversation to include a conversation with "Count my Vote" Executive Director Taylor Morgan. "Count My Vote" was a citizen's initiative from 2014  designed to increase civic engagement and voter participation by making primaries mandatory for all candidates.  We discuss "Count My Vote's" history, evolution, and present day impact. We hope you enjoy this conversation. 

In this episode we speak with Emma Petty Addams and Jennifer Walker Thomas. They are co-executive directors of Mormon Women for Ethical Government. MWEG for short. MWEG is a plaintiff organization in Utah's Gerrymandering Lawsuit and has a vision of building a more peaceful, just, and ethical world by harnessing the power of women of faith. 

Katie Wright speaks with Victoria and Malcolm Reid. They are married, live in Millcreek, and are both plaintiffs in the Gerrymandering lawsuit against the Utah legislature. Malcolm, a Democrat and Vicki, a Republican have found themselves at the epicenter of four congressional districts in Utah.  

In today's episode, we speak with plaintiff attorney David Reymann in the lawsuit filed against the Utah state legislature over redistricting. David has argued cases at all levels of Utah's state and federal courts and is with the firm Parr Brown Gee & Loveless.  David shares a little about his background, some of the reasons he decided to argue this case, and details what they're asking of the court in this case.  In full disclosure, Better Boundaries is supporting the case financially, but is not a plaintiff in the lawsuit. Thank you for listening and please enjoy this episode.

Welcome to the Better Boundaries podcast brought to you by Utahns for a Responsive Government. Our goal in Season 2 is to provide you with updates and context on the fight to end partisan gerrymandering in Utah. Over the series we'll bring you news about the pending lawsuit, interviews, and updates on the players and the process.  We'll offer perspectives about the lawsuit and provide context on the fight against partisan gerrymandering in other states. —   We hope you will subscribe and share.

The Independent Redistricting Commission has completed its mission and recommended 12 maps with a 196 page report. At a presentation to the Legislative Redistricting Committee, Chair Rex Facer highlighted transparency, apolitical fairness, and attention to criteria. Retired Utah State Court of Appeal Judge and Commissioner William Thorne summarized their efforts: “Bipartisanship is possible. Fair maps are possible. And our maps are an example of doing that.”

Join Katie Wright, Executive Director of Better Boundaries as she gives a quick recap and overview of the latest developments coming from Utah's redistricting process. 

Join Executive Director of Better Boundaries Utah, Katie Wright as she discusses the 2021 Utah redistricting process with Mallory Bateman, Senior Research Analyst and State Data Center Coordinator, Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute. Bateman is a census expert, and census blocks are the DNA of districts. Learn about Utah's growth, our urban/rural imbalance, and our growing diversity.

This week, Katie Wright, Executive Director of Better Boundaries Utah sits down with West Valley City Mayor Ron Bigelow to discuss the latest in Utah's redistricting process. Bigelow has served both as Mayor and as a state legislator in his 28 years of public service. He shares his perspective and experience with redistricting.

Join Executive Director of Better Boundaries Utah, Katie Wright as this week she sits down with Former Executive Director Noah Rosenberg to discuss the latest in Utah's redistricting cycle. October is a critical month - both the committee and the commission are hosting meetings, and the Independent Commission will narrow down their draft maps to a few of each. Learn about key trends in Utah's 2021 Redistricting so far.  

Join Katie as she interviews co-chair of the Legislative Redistricting Committee, Representative Paul Ray. They discuss recent public hearings, the committee's decision to use no ethnic or language data, and the relationship between the Independent Commission and the Legislative Committee.

In episode 3, hear from Senator Scott Sandall, co-chair of the Legislative Redistricting Committee discuss the legislative committee's process. They will discuss the rural v. urban conundrum, the committee's decision to use incumbency data, and communities of interest. Tune in and share!

Join us for episode two, a conversation with Utah's first-ever Independent Redistricting Commission's Chair, Rex Facer. Commissioner Facer and Katie will talk about map-drawing, communities of interest, and hitting the road in southeast Utah. 

Welcome to the Better Boundaries Podcast. For our first episode, we're pleased to re-broadcast a conversation between Utah political veteran Spencer Stokes and Better Boundaries Executive Director Katie Wright. The episode was first aired on Stokes' podcast, Stokes & Folks, and is an excellent introduction to Utah's 2021 redistricting landscape. Subscribe and share our podcast, and check out Stokes & Folks for interviews with Utah politicians past and present.

The goal of this podcast is to keep you informed during the 2021 Utah redistricting process. Over the series, we'll bring you news, interviews, and updates on the players and the process for this decennial event. We'll offer perspectives from the Independent Redistricting Commission —  established when voters passed Proposition 4 in 2018 —  we'll keep you informed on the workings of the Legislative Redistricting Committee, — composed of state lawmakers —  and we'll give you perspective from participating citizens.   We hope you will subscribe and share.Better Boundaries Podcast is brought to you by Utahns for a Responsive Government and is hosted by Executive Director Katie Wright. The goal of this podcast is to keep you informed during the 2021 Utah redistricting process.