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2008
Why Schwarzenegger's Redistricting Plan
Won't Work
California Majority Report.com
May 13, 2008
Tony Quinn: Redistricting Reform OK, But
It's Only A Start
Sacramento Bee
May 11, 2008
Governor May Face Donor Fatigue
Contra Costa Times
May 11, 2008
Dan Walters: Competing Proposals For Remap
Sacramento Bee
May 7, 2008
Initiative On Redistricting Closer To
Ballot
San Francisco Chronicle
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Nunez Pushes Ethics Plan As Rival Petitions
Are Filed
Sacramento Bee
May 7, 2008
To Get Leadership Reform, We First Need
Redistricting
Los Angeles Daily News
May 1, 2008
Good Intentions Could Harm Redistricting
Ballot Measure
Los Angeles Times
April 28, 2008
Redistricting On Track To Qualify,
Consultant Says
New America Foundation.com
April 23, 2008
Why Are GOP Contributors Putting Big Money
Into Redistricting Reform?
California Progress Report.com
April 19, 2008
Gov's
Giving To Remap Measure Tops $1 million
Sacramento Bee Capital Alert
April 21, 2008
‘Due
Process’ Democrats Have Their Heads Buried in the California Sand
California Progress Report.com
April 20, 2008
Opinion: Seeing The Light
Los Angeles Daily News
April 19, 2008
California
Voters FIRST Presents A Balanced And Bipartisan Effort For Redistricting
Reform
California Progress Report.com
April 17, 2008
Schwarzenegger's
Redistricting Plan Comes Under Fire
Contra Costa Times
April 17, 2008
Group Says Plan Will Put A Stop To
Gerrymandering
The Simi Valley Acron
April 4, 2008
The Need For Redistricting Reform From
This California Democrat’s Perspective
California Progress Report.com
April 4, 2008
Labor Says No To
Schwarzenegger/Republican/Common Cause Redistricting Measure
The California Majority Report.com
April 02, 2008
Revenge In Attack On Legislative
Redistricting?
California Progress Report.com
March 31, 2008
Weintraub: Governor Gets Another Shot At
Redistricting Reform
Sacramento Bee
March 30, 2008
Editorial: Can't Legislature Do Better Than
Bills On Dogs, Donkeys?
The Fresno Bee
March 30, 2008
Walters: Voters Irate At Budget Posturing
Sacramento Bee
March 28, 2008
New Foundation To Campaign For More Efficient
California Government
Sacramento Bee
March 27, 2008
Editorial: California Voters Should Support
Redistricting Ballot Measure
Fresno Bee
March 24, 2008
Editorial: Redraw the Map
Los Angeles Daily News
March 22, 2008
Walters: Court Ruling Offers Hope to
Dysfunctional California Politics
Sacramento Bee
March 19, 2008
Supreme Court to Hear Major Redistricting
Case
The Thicket at State Legislatures (ncsl.com)
March 18, 2008
Editorial: Let Citizens Redraw the Map
The Torrance Daily Breeze
March 17, 2008
Walters: Redistrict Reformers Miss Mark
Sacramento Bee
March 10, 2008
Let Citizens
Redraw Map
San Gabriel Valley Tribune
March 9, 2008
Governor Proposes Redistricting Ballot
Measure
North County Times
March 8, 2008
Redistricting Initiative Has Strong
Republican Backing
San Jose Mercury News
March 6, 2008
Governor Gathers Signatures to Qualify
Redistricting Measure
San Jose Mercury News
March 4, 2008
Manipulative Lawmakers Playing To The Crowd
Fresno Bee
February 14, 2008
State Voters Need To Do What Lawmakers
Won't
Los Angeles Daily News
February 14, 2008
Editorial: What We Need In Sacramento,
Redistricting, Not Retaliation
San Jose Mercury News
February 14, 2008
Redistricting Reform, Not Longer Terms, Is
The Answer
California Republic.org
February 12, 2008
The Buzz: A Hardball Tactic Could Ricochet
Sacramento Bee
February 11, 2008
Wake Up, Sacramento Media! Wake Up! Wake
Up! Wake Up!
San Diego Union Tribune
February 8, 2008
Editorial: Passive Aggressive Lawmakers
Just Play to the Crowd
Fresno Bee
February 8, 2008
Nunez Takes Blame For Prop. 93 Loss
Los Angeles Daily News
February 7, 2008
Weingand: Voters Got A Whiff and Said 'No'
Sacramento Bee
February 7, 2008
Lawmakers Believe In Term Limits But
Oppose The Measure
North County Times
February 4, 2008
Good For Us
Los Angeles Times
February 4, 2008
Commentary: A Conversation with Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger
Sacramento Bee
January 20, 2008
Walters: Two Party Structure Under Fire
Sacramento Bee
January 18, 2008
Walters: Governor's Brownian Flip-Flops
Sacramento Bee
January 16, 2008
Editorial: Corruption of a Good Idea
San Francisco Chronicle
January 15, 2008
Governor Supports Term Limit Measure
Sacramento Bee
January 15, 2008
A Deceptive Prop. 93
San Francisco Chronicle
January 10, 2008
Use Prop. 93 To Say 'No"
dailybreeze.com
January 3, 2008
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Editorial: Redraw the Map
Los Angeles Daily News
March 22, 2008
Once again, a commendable effort is under way to end the
self-serving system of California's legislators drawing their own
electoral districts. This time, we can only hope, it will succeed.
The new proposal comes from a far-flung alliance of civic groups
- Common Cause, the AARP and the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce. It
would overhaul the dismally corrupt method California currently uses
to create legislative districts.
That, no doubt, is why it's earned the backing of a bipartisan
coalition of some state and local leaders who have consistently
shown the strongest commitment to making government work for the
people - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, former State Controller Steve
Westly and Los Angeles City Controller Laura Chick.
Currently, redistricting power rests with the Legislature itself
- a classic case of the fox guarding the henhouse.
The state's legislative leaders have created politically lopsided
districts to guarantee the incumbent party perpetual re-election.
This has led to the continued election of the most rigidly partisan
candidates of both parties.
That's why folks in Sacramento are unable to work together on
anything - except, of course, perpetuating the current, corrupt
system.
As Schwarzenegger, who has tried - with little success - to get
the warring factions in Sacramento to cooperate, notes, California's
legislative elections are scarcely any more democratic than those we
denounce in Russia. A new redistricting system, he stresses, is key
to moving California forward.
Schwarzenegger once tried to get a redistricting plan approved at
the polls, but it failed, and since then the Legislature has
conveniently been unable to pass one of its own.
The Common Cause plan proposes a 14-member citizens commission to
do the map-making instead of legislative leaders. The group, which
would be selected through a complex process designed to maximize
impartiality, would be made up of five Republicans, five Democrats
and four independent citizens, all chosen by a bipartisan board of
state auditors.
More importantly, the map-makers would be legally barred from
drawing districts to protect incumbents. The initiative would
require that districts be compact and contiguous, while respecting
communities of interest and complying with the Voting Rights Act.
While one could quibble with some of the details - especially
Common Cause's decision to leave congressional districts out of its
proposal, so as to keep powerful members of Congress from trying to
defeat it - the plan is a vast improvement over the indefensible
corruption that's crippled this state for so long.
Supporters need to collect 1million signatures by April 15 to put
the measure on the November ballot. We should all do our part by
signing one of these petitions.
The people of California deserve a chance to vote on a new
redistricting plan. And if we wait on the Legislature to give us
one, we're never going to get it.
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