Redistricting within reach - Compromises will make change possible

Paper: Sacramento Bee, The (CA)

Date: June 16, 2007

The stage is now set for a historic proposal that would separate legislative leaders and members of Congress from picking their voters every 10 years.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger made clear he will not support any measure on the February ballot to modify term limits unless legislators offer voters a proposal for reforming how political districts are drawn.

That creates a powerful incentive for Sen. President Pro Tem Don Perata, Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez and other legislative leaders to reach a compromise in coming weeks. Otherwise, the governor could effectively ensure these legislators will be termed out in 2008 -- a fate they are desperate to avoid.

Four redistricting proposals are on the table. None is perfect. All are better than the current status quo. The challenge for legislative leaders will be to improve upon the best of the four bills. That means putting egos and rivalries aside.

As they negotiate, their top priority should be to create a redistricting panel that is truly independent from the political parties that gerrymandered the last set of districts in 2001.

Any final compromise needs to separate legislators from the job of picking the commissioners who will draw these districts, while at the same time establishing a panel that reflects California's diversity and has members with some basic qualifications.

Of the four proposals on the table, the ones put forth by Sen. Alan Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, and Assembly Republican Leader Mike Villines stand the best chance of passing constitutional muster and minimizing the potential for future mischief. Lowenthal's proposal would have retired judges appoint the panel. Under Villines' bill, panelists would be selected randomly from voter rolls.

Either of these blueprints might work, although we'd prefer that at least some of the panelists have basic qualifications. Possibly one or two slots could be reserved for demographers unaffiliated with either of the major parties. Without such expertise, any redistricting panel would be highly dependent on staff, who, in all likelihood, would have some connection to the party machines.

There's probably no way to completely separate politics from the job of drawing political districts. But while full separation may be a fantasy, partial separation would be an improvement. And now it is within California's grasp.

Section: EDITORIALS

Page: B6