Redistricting commission did its job and followed the law

Daily Breeze (Torrance, CA) - Sunday, January 8, 2012
Author: Vincent P. Barabba

ON Aug. 15, I had the privilege of submitting to the California secretary of state, on behalf of my fellow California Citizen Redistricting Commission members, the new maps for elections throughout the next decade. 

Thanks to voter-approved initiatives, this was the first time in California history that legislative, congressional and Board of Equalization districts were drawn by an independent, nonpartisan commission. 

Historically, redistricting was the purview of the Legislature, whose members primarily saw the job as an incumbent protection and preservation plan. Many believe the resulting gerrymandered districts maintained the dysfunctional status quo, putting the politicians' self-interests above the people. 

Now there are some misperceptions of the commission's work fueled by a slanted piece by the nonprofit investigative journalism organization ProPublica that appeared in this newspaper. The thrust of the article is that California congressional Democrats organized a stealth campaign to influence us. 

I know it may be hard for some to believe, but the commission was well aware that incumbent politicians would try to circumvent an open and transparent process to benefit their own interests. The problem is that ProPublica went beyond revealing an alleged scheme and concluded that the Democrats successfully gamed the system and influenced an unwary commission's final district maps. 

Nothing could be further from the truth. 

We drew district maps that were fair and representative without regard to political parties, incumbents or potential candidates. Our process was the antithesis to the backroom deals of the past. 

All of the commission's discussions and deliberations had to be done in the light of day in public meetings that were live streamed. The videos and transcripts are archived on the commission's website. We held an unprecedented 34 public meetings across the state, hearing from more than 2,700 speakers and receiving an additional 20,000 comments in writing. 

We carefully weighed the community testimony as a whole and followed the U.S. and California Constitutions, the Federal Voting Rights Act and the Voters First Act (Propositions 11 and 20). The California Constitution's criteria included drawing districts that were contiguous, compact where practicable and keeping counties, cities and communities of interest whole where practicable. 

Some have criticized the commissioners as "amateurs." Indeed, ProPublica was misleading in its descriptions of commissioners. For example, it described one simply as a "homemaker." In this case the "homemaker" had been a strategic planner and organizational consultant for nonprofits and had conducted much of her work throughout the San Joaquin Valley. The public specifically didn't want the kind of professional, self-interested politicians who drew the lines in the past. 

The 14-member commission is a diverse group of highly educated and experienced individuals including small-business owners, educators, former city council members, a former mayor, lawyers, consultants, an urban planner, an architect - and myself, a former director of the U.S. Census Bureau. 

Were we successful? Well, the proof is in the pudding. 

As many as 60 districts are now without an incumbent, and some districts have incumbents running against each other. A California Field Poll in September showed that voters familiar with the commission's work overwhelmingly approved of the new districts. 

In October the state Supreme Court unanimously dismissed litigation brought by partisans. The court found that the commission did its job and followed the law. 

The voters' experiment with redistricting reform proves that an engaged and enlightened electorate can make a difference. It is my hope that the commission's work will go a long way in restoring the hope and confidence of the people of California and will serve as a model for other states. 

Vincent P. Barabba, a Republican member of the Citizen Redistricting Commission, is former director of the U.S. Census Bureau. He originally wrote this piece for the San Jose Mercury News.