As We See It: State redistricting needed

The Santa Cruz Sentinel

January 20, 2006

Nearly 80 California newspapers editorialized in favor of a redistricting measure on last November's ballot.

The redistricting measure failed, just like all four measures that had been put on the ballot by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Does that mean redistricting isn't needed in California ? Does it mean that newspapers have no clout anymore?

The answer is no on both counts, at least according to Assembly Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield.

Speaking to a group of newspaper executives earlier this week in Sacramento , McCarthy said that the need to change the way California legislative districts are drawn up has become obvious, and that its failure on the ballot is only a sign that reform will happen eventually.

McCarthy was on a panel with two Democrats and another Republican, all of whom agreed that redistricting reform must happen in California .

The problem is that legislative Democrats and Republicans got together after 2000 census and redrew the district boundaries for Assembly and Senate districts throughout California .

Their goal, as it turns out, was to create a map that ensured, essentially, that no seats would change hands in a general election. They looked at the numbers of registered voters and where they lived and drew lines that made either a Democratic win or a Republican win a virtual certainty.

In Santa Cruz County , for example, that political strategy resulted in splitting up Senate districts into two: one held by a Democrat from Palo Alto , and the other a Republican from San Luis Obispo .

The redistricting measure on the November ballot would have set up a system in which three non-partisan judges would redraw the boundaries, instead of allowing legislators to do it themselves.

Democrats balked. We were surprised that a number of Santa Cruz Democrats opposed the measure, even though they were fully aware that the Democratic leadership in Sacramento had messed up this county something awful.

However, it's obvious today that the Democratic opposition to redistricting had more to do with the measure itself than it did with the issue of redistricting. At this week's panel discussion, State Sen. Alan Lowenthal, D-Long Beach , said: "The most courageous act possible would be for the Legislature to give up the power to redistrict."

McCarthy added that the gerrymandered districts have made the general election in November essentially meaningless. Because Republican or Democratic victories are guaranteed because of the way legislators drew boundaries, the only contested elections came in the primaries.

Such a case is certainly true locally: State Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, who represents much of Santa Cruz County , barely beat his Democratic opponent in the primary, Ted Lempert, and then coasted to a victory in November over the little-remembered Republican, Jon Zellhoefer of San Jose .

As McCarthy argued, "Structure dictates behavior," and the safe districts have given rise to the most partisan Legislature in memory. Moderates in each party are defeated in the primary, leading to a highly partisan atmosphere in Sacramento .

We hope that members of both parties will continue working toward a better way to decide legislative districts. Not a single seat in the Legislature went from one party to another in the 2004 elections. Such a case will remain in the 2006 election year.

But it's time to look to the future, and prove to the editors of 80 newspapers in the state that they're right about redistricting.

Nearly 80 California newspapers editorialized in favor of a redistricting measure on last November's ballot.

The redistricting measure failed, just like all four measures that had been put on the ballot by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Does that mean redistricting isn't needed in California ? Does it mean that newspapers have no clout anymore?

The answer is no on both counts, at least according to Assembly Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield.

Speaking to a group of newspaper executives earlier this week in Sacramento , McCarthy said that the need to change the way California legislative districts are drawn up has become obvious, and that its failure on the ballot is only a sign that reform will happen eventually.

McCarthy was on a panel with two Democrats and another Republican, all of whom agreed that redistricting reform must happen in California .

The problem is that legislative Democrats and Republicans got together after 2000 census and redrew the district boundaries for Assembly and Senate districts throughout California .

Their goal, as it turns out, was to create a map that ensured, essentially, that no seats would change hands in a general election. They looked at the numbers of registered voters and where they lived and drew lines that made either a Democratic win or a Republican win a virtual certainty.

In Santa Cruz County , for example, that political strategy resulted in splitting up Senate districts into two: one held by a Democrat from Palo Alto , and the other a Republican from San Luis Obispo .

The redistricting measure on the November ballot would have set up a system in which three non-partisan judges would redraw the boundaries, instead of allowing legislators to do it themselves.

Democrats balked. We were surprised that a number of Santa Cruz Democrats opposed the measure, even though they were fully aware that the Democratic leadership in Sacramento had messed up this county something awful.

However, it's obvious today that the Democratic opposition to redistricting had more to do with the measure itself than it did with the issue of redistricting. At this week's panel discussion, State Sen. Alan Lowenthal, D-Long Beach , said: "The most courageous act possible would be for the Legislature to give up the power to redistrict."

McCarthy added that the gerrymandered districts have made the general election in November essentially meaningless. Because Republican or Democratic victories are guaranteed because of the way legislators drew boundaries, the only contested elections came in the primaries.

Such a case is certainly true locally: State Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, who represents much of Santa Cruz County , barely beat his Democratic opponent in the primary, Ted Lempert, and then coasted to a victory in November over the little-remembered Republican, Jon Zellhoefer of San Jose .

As McCarthy argued, "Structure dictates behavior," and the safe districts have given rise to the most partisan Legislature in memory. Moderates in each party are defeated in the primary, leading to a highly partisan atmosphere in Sacramento .

We hope that members of both parties will continue working toward a better way to decide legislative districts. Not a single seat in the Legislature went from one party to another in the 2004 elections. Such a case will remain in the 2006 election year.

But it's time to look to the future, and prove to the editors of 80 newspapers in the state that they're right about redistricting.