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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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Schwarzenegger's Redistricting Plan Comes Under
Fire
By Steven Harmon
Contra Costa Times
April 17, 2008
SACRAMENTO — Apparently, there will not be a smooth ride to reform
for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, whose ballot measure to hand over
remapping powers from the Legislature to an independent commission
came under fire Thursday from civil rights groups who say it would
disenfranchise minority voters.
Calling California Voters First a "flawed" proposal that
would be worse than the current system of drawing legislative
boundaries, the groups said the proposal fails to guarantee
diversity in the independent commission it would create.
It "represents a step backwards for the political progress of
California's minorities," said Arturo Vargas, executive
director of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed
Officials Educational Fund. It would, he added, "jeopardize
opportunities for Latinos to achieve full representation in the
state."
The measure would create a 14-person independent citizens commission
made up of five Democrats, five Republicans and four individuals not
registered as a member of either major party to draw district
boundaries for the Senate, Assembly and Board of Equalization.
Eight of the members would be chosen randomly — a process that
could leave out minorities, opponents say.
Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, D-Los Angeles, has called the ballot
measure a Republican power grab, and this week said he is hoping to
push for a legislative alternative that would include more
protections for minorities.
He said he would try to couple the reform with others, including one
that would extend term limits.
But the ballot measure's authors said that Nunez had his chance and
failed — three times — in trying to get something through the
Legislature.
"We tried the legislative solution and don't think it's a
viable solution," said Jeannine English, the California
director at AARP who helped write the proposal. "And now we're
at the point of finalizing our signature gathering, and that may be
threatening all the individuals who support the status quo."
The measure's supporters have until early to mid-May to gather
694,354 valid signatures to qualify it for the November ballot.
Common Cause of California, the League of Women Voters, the AARP and
others that promote government reform say their presence shows that
the proposal is not a GOP power grab.
By far, however, Republicans have been the proposal's biggest
supporters. Schwarzenegger, who co-chairs the ballot committee, has
donated $550,000 from his California Dream Team campaign account,
which was funded largely by Republican donors. Overall, California
Voters First has raised $1,449,155.
The New Majority, a Republican political action committee devoted to
electing Republicans, has donated $212,500 to the measure.
Former state controller Steve Westly, the Democratic co-chairman of
the proposal, has not donated any of his personal fortune to the
cause.
The most prominent Democratic contributor is Reed Hastings, the CEO
of Los-Gatos-based Netflix, who has contributed $144,155 to the
proposal.
He has primarily donated to Democratic candidates and causes since
2000, though he has also been a strong contributor to Schwarznegger.
Steve Maviglio, the deputy chief of staff for Nunez, said that
watchdog groups are blind to the potential effects to minorities
"because they'll take redistricting at any cost."
In a letter to Nunez sent Wednesday, English, Kathay Feng of
California Common Cause and Janis Hirohama of the League of Women
Voters said they were "perplexed" at his opposition but
assured him that they will conduct an "aggressive
campaign" to gain passage in the fall.
"We will not be deterred," they wrote, adding that his
proposal to pursue his own alternative "appears to be nothing
more than an attempt to derail our efforts."
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