REDISTRICTING RETURNS TO THE DRAWING BOARD

REDISTRICTING RETURNS TO THE DRAWING BOARD

San Jose Mercury News (CA)

January 28, 2006

Despite a pounding at the polls in November, the quest to take politics out of the process of drawing political districts is back on its feet in the state Capitol.

Proposition 77, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's redistricting initiative, had barely been declared dead before he and legislative leaders promised to find a new way to prevent legislators from designing their own districts.

A redistricting constitutional amendment, SCA 3, that was introduced last year and then ignored, has been revived. The sponsors are Sen. Alan Lowenthal, D-Long Beach and Sen. Roy Ashburn, R-Bakersfield.

A coalition pushing reform has broadened itself beyond the good-government groups that have made reform a cause for years. Organizations like Common Cause have been joined by AARP.

''I think 2006 is probably our opportunity to make something happen,'' said Jacqueline Jacobberger of South San Francisco , president of the League of Women Voters of California.

2011 is far away

The next redistricting , in 2011, is far enough away that many of today's legislators will be out of office and may be willing to let someone else redraw the map.

Every 10 years, after the national census, new legislative and congressional districts are drawn in every state to reflect population growth and movement. In California , the Legislature -- in practice, party leaders and operatives behind the scenes -- draws the map; the governor signs or vetoes it.

It's no secret that legislators design districts to fit their personal political ambitions, or those of the party. Gerrymandered districts stretch and twist to include just the right clusters of voters, often ignoring city boundaries and geographical obstacles. For instance, the 15th state Senate district runs from northern Santa Barbara County to South San Jose .

The common element in reform proposals is to take the mapping pen from the Legislature and hand it to an independent panel.

Proposition 77, part of Schwarzenegger's failed special election agenda, proposed three retired judges. It also would have launched an immediate redistricting to redraw what its sponsors consider the unacceptable political map drawn in 2001.

Voters clobbered the proposition, with 60 percent voting ''no.'' So why would anyone still be pushing redistricting reform?

''I think that we're in a very different climate, starting with the governor's apology for calling the special election,'' said Kathay Feng, executive director of Common Cause.

The two most criticized elements of Proposition 77 have been revised. Mid-decade redistricting is out. And the independent panel would be larger, to provide more diversity in ethnic background, geography and expertise.

There is at least some reason to believe that Proposition 77's defeat didn't settle the question.

At a Jan. 4 joint press conference, Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, a Democrat, and Kevin McCarthy, the Assembly Republican leader, promised to work together for ''an independent group drawing the boundaries,'' in Nunez's words. The Senate's top Democrat, Don Perata, and Republican, Dick Ackerman, have said much the same thing.

If the Legislature won't put a proposal on the ballot, the sponsor of Proposition 77, activist Ted Costa, said he will be ready with another initiative and has already submitted language to the attorney general.

''We lost at the polls, so we went back to the drawing table,'' he said. ''We heard objections to judges and we scrapped the judges. People thought that the panel was too small, so it is now 11 members.''

Coalition meeting

The loose coalition that has long been pushing redistricting reform has been meeting to put the divisions over Proposition 77 behind it and has found some new members.

Joining Common Cause, the League of Women Voters and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund are AARP (formerly the American Association of Retired Persons) and the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California.

Changing redistricting requires an amendment to the state constitution. Whether it is proposed by the Legislature or through an initiative, it requires approval by voters -- by no means a sure thing.

Voters have considered a redistricting reform proposal five times since 1980. All five failed.

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Caption:
Photos (6)

Caption:
PHOTO: Schwarzenegger
PHOTO: Nunez
PHOTO: McCarthy
PHOTO: Perata
PHOTO: Ackerman
PHOTO: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, left, has promised to work with Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, Assembly Republican leader Kevin McCarthy, and Senate leaders Don Perata and Dick Ackerman.

Edition: Morning Final
Section: California News
Page: 5B

Record Number: 0601290051