The political games they play in Boise

Oh, the political games they play during the legislative session over in Boise.

 The latest is accusations by Democrats that Republicans are trying to gerrymander legislative districts in the state to favor the GOP. 

 In case you are not familiar with gerrymandering, it’s the age-old political practice of redrawing districts to favor one party over another. 

 If I am a Republican, I might want to solidify GOP voters in my district by drawing the lines to that end, and vice versa if I am a Democrat. 

 It’s not fair or impartial, but, hey, it’s politics. 

 The Democrats, who have been in the minority in the statehouse since 1776, said the Republicans tried to slip a bill by them last week without anyone having the chance to testify.

 Currently, districts are drawn by the six-member independent Citizen’s Redistricting Commission. The commission is split politically with three Democrats and three Republicans. 

 Here’s the rub for Democrats. The proposed bill would add a seventh  member to the commission who would be handpicked by the governor, lieutenant governor, state controller, treasurer and superintendent of public instruction.

 Guess what? All those state offices are held by Republicans, who very well might think it’s a good idea to add another Republican to the redistricting commission, tilting it in favor of the GOP.

 When the legislation was introduced in the House State Affairs Committee, things got testy. Democrats walked out of the committee hearing in protest that the bill was getting a hearing on a Friday.

 Rep. Matt Erpelding, a Democrat who represents a district in Boise, said the current system ensures collaboration and fairness when drawing legislative boundaries.

 Not so under the proposed legislation.

• • •

 Nostalgia was in the air on Friday night in the Homedale High School gym.

 I was there to cover the last-minute win, literally, by the Wolverines of Weiser High School over the Homedale High School Trojans.

 The Homedale crowd paid tribute to the Trojan boys basketball team of 1969. That was the year Homedale won the 3A state championship, the big prize.

 The Trojans won the state title by beating West Jefferson in convincing fashion with the score 59-41 on March 8, 1969. The finals  were played at Capital High School in Boise.

 The local newspaper at the time, The Owyhee Chronicle, put the title story in the front page and said the team “inflicts convincing defeat to West Jefferson.”

 All but one of the surviving members of the 1968-69 Trojans were expected to be in town for the event. 

 That was 50 years ago and it hasn’t happened since. Talk about a dry spell. 

 Steve Lyon is the editor of the Weiser Signal American. Contact him at scoop@signalamerican.com.