Political selfishness at work: Give Prop. 11 a chance

The Reporter
March 8, 2010

Quietly, a group of California Democrats is trying to subvert the will of the voters.

Twelve members of Congress and Assemblywoman Karen Bass, who is running for a congressional seat, have contributed more than $150,000 to a campaign to repeal Proposition 11 through an initiative on the November ballot. Proposition 11 was the 2008 measure that took the power to draw state lawmakers' districts away from the Legislature and gave it to a citizens' commission.

Why are members of Congress so concerned about a commission that doesn't affect them? Because another initiative in the works for November would add House districts to the commission's authority.

Opponents of Proposition 11 pronounce high-minded concerns about fair representation. But they're really worried about one thing: that an independent commission uninterested in gerrymandering will loosen Democrats' grip on power.

The commission hasn't even been selected yet, let alone had a chance to do what voters asked just 16 months ago. But more than 30,000 people have applied to serve, hoping to do their part to fix state government by removing conflicts of interest from the task of drawing districts and by making the process transparent instead of a backroom deal.

Democrats fought hard against Proposition 11 and lost. Now they're dredging up the same old arguments, suggesting the pool of applicants is too white and will result in unequal representation. That's hogwash. The 14-member commission chosen from that pool is mandated to be representative of the population's race and geography. While the pool is still more white than the state's population, massive outreach efforts have brought in more people of color.

Besides, it couldn't have more calamitous results than the last redistricting . In 2001, the Legislature gerrymandered the map to keep incumbents of both parties safe. Not a single one of the 120 legislative seats changed hands in 2004 and 2006; only five did so in 2008.

There's nothing inherently wrong with trying to reverse a prior initiative. What's disturbing in this case is that the effort is bankrolled almost entirely by self-interested politicians.

Ironically, the commission could help restore trust in the very officials who seek to repeal it. Knowing that districts are drawn fairly, voters might give their representatives more leeway. This attempt at repeal just sows more outrage and distrust.

All this because a few lawmakers might be forced to run in competitive races. And that's all it would be; even optimists say most seats will remain safe as communities of interest are grouped together. What a shame that so many elected officials are more interested in holding on to power than in carrying out voters' wishes.