In the last election there were 153 congressional and legislative districts on the ballot. The results were 153-0 in favor of the incumbent Democrat or Republican. This was certainly not the system that our founders had in mind. As John McCain has said, “You have more of a chance of being replaced in the Politburo in Havana than the United States Congress.”
I have been working to pass meaningful, campaign reform for over twenty years, back to the Common Cause and League of Woman Voters endorsed Prop 131 in 1990, which I co-chaired. It was defeated by an unholy alliance of Willie Brown, legislative Republicans, tobacco and gambling money, and Saddam Hussein; just kidding on the last one – but only on that one.
With the condition of our state, one would believe that there has been at least one Democrat or one Republican that deserved ouster. Not with the collusion between the Democrats and Republicans that assure no competition and little real discussion of the mighty issues that threaten to drag our state toward the abyss.
A century ago, the great progressive Governor, Hiram Johnson, said: “I do not by any means believe the initiative, the referendum and the recall are the panacea for all our political ills, yet they do give to the electorate the power of action … and they do place in the hands of the people the means by which they may protect themselves.”
It is time for us to protect ourselves and pass a reform of the redistricting process that is so corrupt. A bipartisan three judge pane will draw the new lines, and then submit them to a vote of the people. They will respect city limit lines, communities of interest and economic units. The prestigious Rose Institute at Claremont McKenna College believes that as many as 50 districts could become competitive. Such a change is highly desirable.
No one is served by the current system. Both Democrats and Republicans tear up and whine that “they” will be disadvantaged. Good. When both partisan sides are afraid of the result, it can surely not be a bad one for the people.
It is time for reform.
This just in from the teachers union…
“In court documents released today, Carlos Moreno, the union’s controller, said the CTA has already blown through the $50 million it expected to raise through a three-year $60 annual dues increase on its 335,000 members and is “in the process of negotiating a necessary $40 million line of credit.”
Can you spell thermonuclear meltdown?
Just when you think it is safe to listen to the wisdom of Tom, he goes public in support of this measure. No argument that the process has been broken for a long time and is in need of a fix. As with the recall election, this is another abuse of the process. By simply changing the language of 77 a fix would be ready to go at the proper time—the next census. Changing the rules in the middle is simply disrespectful to the electorate—as ignorant as they may be.
The bigger issue though is the aforementioned ignorancy of the electorate. If people are foolish enough to keep reelecting people who should not be in office, shame on them. I don’t need term limits, new district lines, or anything else to vote against pinheads from either party.
What are you going to do to inject some intelligence in the electorate, Tom?
As for the city council races, look at the collection of low-wattage that currently sits on the dais. Do we have anyone to blame but ourselves? We can whine all we want on this blog but it is going to take a lot more than that to reclaim our city or our state.
Sorry Tom, I am voting NO on all of Arnold’s initiatives. He’s a republican through and through and cannot be trusted. Just this morning on NPR there was another story about Arnold firing department heads and replacing them with campaign donors. With each passing day he becomes more Bush-like.
My mind was made up prior to asking, but when I did inquire with a friend of mine who has business and social ties with the Governor I the answer I got was, “He’s a republican. Vote no on everything.”
I am proudly displaying my red octagonal “STOP ARNOLD” sign at home. This guy is doing everything he attacked Gray Davis for doing. The hypocrisy in the Governor’s office (and the Oval Room) has to stop, and it’s time for the wised-up electorate to advise Arnold that we’re not buying if he’s the one who’s selling. If you think I’m wrong, just look at the approval ratings for Arnold and Bush.
I will definitely vote YES on Prop. 77. You know our state legislature needs reform when a Santa Cruz resident’s state senator (Joe Simitian) is from and was former mayor of Palo Alto. As Santa Cruz is considered (widely) to be on the “central coast” and Palo Alto is in the northern part of the state, I doubt many people in Santa Cruz like myself are being represented here.
I do not know about the other state props yet, but my rule on any sales tax or bond measure is an automatic NO.
I am leaning towards voting in favor of 77, although I question using outdated census data to redraw legislative districts.
Then again, if you’ve ever seen a map of the 15th Senate District, which includes both Los Gatos AND Santa Barbara, it’s clear that folks up in Sacto were not exactly defending democracy when they drew the lines.
Here’s an example of what a gerrymandered district looks like: http://republican.sen.ca.gov/web/15/dist.asp
I am voting YES on 77 – the madness has to stop and I want the ability to elect someone based on what they bring to the table not whether they are a part of a party.
Mark T you are part of the problem. You can’t just vote against someone b/c they are Republican. Why don’t you vote against the issue and think a little.
Hey Get,
I am voting NO because I want Arnold to know that this could have waited until spring (or in the case of 77, after the 2010 census) and people are not happy with the expense he’s incurring. He’s saddling counties with the cost of a special election. All because he’s not willing to work with the legislature. He’s a quitter when steroids aren’t figuring into the picture. He took his marbles and went straight the special election when the legislature wouldn’t allow him to railroad his plan through. This guy’s arian roots are showing and people are defending his stategies? That’s a real problem that I’ll never be a part of.
Jeez, Mark. You’re begining to sound like your own propaganda outlets. Everything about Republicans is bad and probably contagious while everything Democrat is good.
Why not look at the individual issues as “issues” not at the sponsorship. No matter how much you may hate Republicans they can’t all be bad. Do you know any? Ever had a Republican doctor operate on you and actually survive? Nah, probably not. The last one performed brain surgery and cut out your thought process.
Also please let us know what arian (sic) roots are. Hair color perhaps since his roots are showing.
Of course, not all Republicans are bad. The problem is with the Party itself. The Reeps have been taken over by right wing idealogues who represent the worst of the “I know what is best for you” crowd. Good Republicans stand idly by while their party is hijacked. Good Republicans who do not speak out against the extremist direction of their party are, by their silence, bad.
Unfortunately, the Dems don’t offer a great alternative, but it is certainly better than what the Reeps have going at the moment.
This discussion could go on for days and most Reeps will say the same thing about the Dems, and vice versa. This is why the state and the nation are in the mess we are currently facing. When party affiliation means more than doing the correct thing does, it sinks up the place.
It’s time for good Reeps to leave their party and help direct the nation back on course. Anybody willing to do so?
Wizard’s right. I for one am bailing on this conservative stuff.
Next chance I get I’m gonna be ‘on the ground’ helping to get our country on course. http://zombietime.com/hall_of_shame/
California has for decades had a very dysfunctional Legislative / Governor relationship that has not served the people at all well and unfortunately has resulted in many poor policy decisions, decades of spending more than our revenues that has caused great harm to our state, education system and economy while continuing to prolong our current state and local budget crises.
The current legislative control of the redistricting process just makes the our legislative gridlock situation worst by insuring continuing political party control of their allocated districts and the election of many unqualified “party loyalists” rather than contested elections where the best qualified candidates potentially could be elected who could represent everyone in their district.
These ” follow and vote the political party / special interest line or else” party loyalists represent the extremes of both parties and they generally do not have the capability or desire to do the required independent thinking and analysis about what is good consensus California public policy and would work for the greater good of all Californian’s thus making political consensus and agreement more difficult or impossible.
San Jose Inside commenters and other Californians have been critical of many of the Republican Congress and Bush administration “ support our political party / special interest issues or else politics “ BUT seem to tolerant and are proud of the same “political party loyalty test politics” in California which is easy to see if you look for it and is bad for all of us
Anyone who advocates blindly supporting any political party, candidate, elected official and their party / special interest supporter’s legislative or an initiative agenda RATHER than examining the merits of the proposals makes little or no common sense
Unlike Rich, I believe that many of our elected “party loyalist “officials while good and decent people are NOT qualified for doing the job for which they were elected based on actual results, regardless of good intentions. If you doubt this talk to your elected officials or their staffs about complex policy issues and you will see what many of have realized
The majority of our elected “party loyalists” officials should be not be praised but heavily criticized for overall poor performance and being professional politician followers since they
1)do not have an adequate understanding of the public policy issues that they vote on and the intermediate or long term consequences,
2)do not making the efforts to develop the knowledge and skills to make good public policy and many times pass laws that are legally questionable, unfair to certain groups or unconstitutional resulting in more polarization rather than everyone working together,
3)do not hire qualified staff but mostly inexperienced political loyalists
4)do not care since they will be out of office when the problem or consequences comes due
5)lack the political courage and skills to communicate to the resident why specific public policies are necessary to address future challenges that are good for all Californians but pass legislation that is supportive of their party special interest supporters.
This lack political leadership, required public policy knowledge or ability and desire to learn and required public policy communication skills has resulted in years of legislative gridlock and an explosion of poorly drafted initiatives that are proposed as easy or quick fixes with many unintended consequences.
It is really disappointing that anyone on San Jose Inside, where there are many well thought out comments, would make the point that the voters should turn down an initiative that potentially will solve a well recognized legislative incumbent biased redistricting problem without looking at the merits of the proposal because a certain elected official or political party they dislike proposed an idea, legislation or initiative
Where is the common sense and well thought out political discussion and debate that San Jose Inside is supposed to encourage about the proposed initiatives and other public policy proposals or our we going to substitute “party loyalist” thinking for political discussion and debate ?
It is obvious that California’s political system is badly broken and if we continue to let the same “follow the political party loyalist line rather than don’t do any independent thinking ” politicians do the same thing the same way so we will only get the same poor politics and state and local government public policy results
Most of our local, state and federal politicians act in a what can best be described as in a – Dumb, Dumb, and Dumber manner since we do not communicate that we expect better pulic policy and have not required that they do otherwise
Unqualified Political Party Loyalist are the problem
Reading these comments is a riot. No wonder that we have such mess when we have opinions like these expressed by supposedly sane and educated people. Someone doesn’t trust republicans and someone else doesn’t trust democrats. They should be more concerned with the turkeys they’ve elected to office!
I’ll take issue with the the performance of Arnie, he was voted in because he could upset the status quo, an action well overdue. If you think those meatheads in Sacremento are going to do anything it will be along time before hell freezes over and we see that happening. But my pet peeve is those that cofuse things by calling republicans conservatives. All of the republicans I know, including myself, do not consider ourselves as conservatives. That is a name the media uses because they are too damm lazy to do some real work. I consider myself more liberal then any democrat and would relish the opportunity to debate that with any of them but they wouldn’t have the gumption to show up. I’m going to vote for all of the 70’s and especially 77.
Sorry guys & gals, I’m just fed up, especially with the republican party and the ultra/religious right wingers who have been allowed way too much influence, but do understand that the democrats are hardly perfect. It’s a sad situation with politics in general. Just look at the field of candidates for SJ Mayor.
Wel, well, well. So now you’re fed up with the ultra-right wing, religious Republican Party. Might as well be fed up with the religious Pope.
Let’s get back on track Mark. The suggestion is that we might want to vote for re-districting and do away with the current gerrymandering that has been prevelant in this state for years. I don’t see the problem with a vote on this issue whether or not it was brought to the ballot by a right wing, religious, Austrian-born,Republican governor or his antithesis. Let’s vote on the ISSUE and then live with the result of the election. Wanna bet that if it wins the path will lead to the ninth circus court of appaling.
The election is upon us and we need to vote not sit around and pretend that we care about the cost. Or maybe we could wait until 2010. Can you imagin how much damage could be done by both side in that 5 year period?
Now let’s see a real candidate for Mayor of San Jose step forward. After all we only have another year of rule by the phillandering Ronnie G. Maybe his recall should have been on this ballot as well.
Are you Fed up with our
I’m voting No on all of the Governor’s initiatives except this one.
When John Burton made the deal to protect Democrats and Republicans alike, while Texas illegally gerrymandered their disticts to assure a Republican majority—it was the final straw.
A fair reapportionment would have given Democrats more seats in the house, but. some current Democrats might have given up their seats in the house, state senate and assembly.
The unholy alliance of ultralibs and right-wing conservatives who are more concerned about their own jobs, then the agenda of their state or country—well any system would be better.
77 isn’t perfect, it wasn’t put on the ballot correctly, it’s timing is wrong and I vehemently oppose all of the other “reform” measures.
But 77 stands alone as a long over-due necessity for good government.
Tom, good post and good point. This same issues finds it way into our city as well.
At this time special interests are so strong that to end up with 3 dwarves running for mayor and no person of significance running.
This has even hit the downtown council seat in which we only have two dwarves running.
Does anyone with charactor, vision or significance want to run for and elected post?
All of the Prop. 77 attention seems to be on people (either judges or politicians) as decision makers, but the bigger question I have is – what is actual process for redistricting? As a layman, the first question that pops to mind is, why is this a job for judges – or politicians? Shouldn’t 90% of drawing boundaries be in the hands of demographers and based on a set of equations and data. Is there a defined process for redistricting in California, or through Prop. 77, are we actually voting for who has the power to define the process? On one hand proponents of Prop 77 seems to make it sound so simple, boiling it down to a handful of judges to take care of redistricting. On the other hand there must be a lot more to this, especially in terms of process and who defines the process.
<<All of the Prop. 77 attention seems to be on people (either judges or politicians) as decision makers, but the bigger question I have is – what is actual process for redistricting?>>
Today, the process of redistricting is handled by the State Legislature and the Governor. The State legislature draws up a plan, and sends it to the Governor for his signature. The criteria that the Legislators are supposed to follow, as set in the State Constitution, is vague and easily manipulated for gerrymandering purposes, as evidenced by the 2001 incumbent protection plan.
On the other hand, Prop 77 has a set of strict criteria that the panel of judges must follow, and leaves very little room for manipulation or divergent opinion. You can view the solution here:
http://www.yeson77.com/about/solution/
<<why is this a job for judges – or politicians? Shouldn’t 90% of drawing boundaries be in the hands of demographers and based on a set of equations and data.>>
Yes, the process of redistricting should not be all about the people involved, but the actual criteria that is to be followed. Prop 77 accomplishes this by having a strict set of criteria that the panel of Judges are to follow when evaluating maps, or drawing their own. In this way, the Judges are simply following the law, and do not have much, if any, wiggle room for personal intervention.
<<Is there a defined process for redistricting in California, or through Prop. 77, are we actually voting for who has the power to define the process?>>
Yes, Prop 77 is a well defined process, as opposed to the current system which is more about who controls the power of the process.
<<On one hand proponents of Prop 77 seems to make it sound so simple, boiling it down to a handful of judges to take care of redistricting. On the other hand there must be a lot more to this, especially in terms of process and who defines the process. >>
As it stands today, the redistricting process is a highly politicized process with the power in the hands of those who can easily manipulate the system. It is an inherent conflict of interest for the State Legislature to draw their own lines.
2/3rds of Prop 77 is about making sure that the panel of Judges is as independent and non partisan as possible, the rest of Prop 77 is the set of strict and clear criteria that the panel MUST follow in drawing the lines.
Prop 77 models after the experiences in the 1970’s and 1990’s, when the California Supreme Court appointed 3 judge panels to take on the redistricting process because the Legislators couldnt come to an agreement, and in thise decades, competition was at a high, and minority and female representation increased dramatically.
Prop 77 is a systematic reform that transcends party politics.
You democrats who bemoan the Religious Right’s hijacking of the Republican Party have only yourselves to blame; it was your political strategy that awoke that sleeping giant and turned it loose on the nation. What did you think would happen when you assembled your considerable resources in the courts and colleges and newspapers and shoved the abortion issue down the throats of the nation? Did you really expect America’s Christians to swallow Roe v. Wade, pack-up their signs and emotions and beliefs, and go home quietly? Tell me, was there anything in the history of mankind to make you doubt that a backlash would follow?
Oh, you had your days of glory. You “Borked” a decent, learned man, lynched a black nominee who didn’t know his ideological place, and got your rock ‘n roll whoremonger elected twice to the presidency. But at what price to the nation?
If you want a good look at what a backlash looks like, take a look at the dimwit now sitting in the White House. He was put there by the blood, sweat, and dollars of pissed-off Christians. You remember them, the folks you beat up for the feminists, mocked at every opportunity, and thought you had whipped. Well, you may have twisted the Constitution to suit your needs, freed your president to embarrass our nation, and cleared our public buildings of all things Christian, but the Christians took the White House and now we’re stuck with a president who “isn’t much of a reader” but listens to god (and his false prophets, the “democracy-loving” neocons).
As for the Republican Party, it is only in slightly less disarray than is Saddam’s Republican Guard. How can you love it or hate it if you can’t define it?
The callous abuse of power, whether aimed by a nation at an “easy mark” like Iraq, or by a political party at a “winnable” issue like abortion, is never the healthy course for a nation. We don’t need party-line victories; we need victories for the nation. We need to put the Constitution first, not expediency. Abortion was, properly, a state issue, no different than the death penalty. But the victory was there to be had, Constitution be damned. Good job!
Partisan looters have for too long been raiding our policies and institutions, shortchanging our great nation while some of us watched in helpless sadness, and some of us jumped for joy in victory. And in the end, we have all lost. Our nation simply can’t afford to continue with this exploitation and backlash form of politics any longer. We inherited a better system; our children deserve no less.
Mark T – Good thing that you are sticking with party lines and going to vote against everything Arnold puts forth because you don’t like him. That is the kind of spirit that got us in this mess we are in in CA. Please – you want Arnold to work with the legislature? Hello – the legislature does not want redistricting because it takes them out of their cush jobs. Quit crying about the costs of the special election – it will bring results – vote for 77!
There is some great thinking in these blogs but don’t cut off your nose etc. Just because you don’t like Arnold don’t go against possibly the only chance we’ll have to change the way things have been done. If this fails they may never be another chance. These politicans are bought and sold by contributions and will do anything to get elected. Get rid of all of them by voting for reform no matter who puts it on ballot. Yes on all of them.
Voting for all of the props makes about as much sense as electing a movie actor to be Governor—and the fools in this state have done it twice. Shame on them.
Prop 77 will fix the slashing of communities that the gerrymandering elected officials have created.
I can get to 4 or 5 assembly districts in 10 minutes but the one I live in ends over 1/2 an hour north of me. I can get to 3 senate districts in 10 minutes but the one I live it ends 210 miles south of me. Want to exchange ideas with your neighbors and have community discussion about your elected representation?
Vote yes on 77.
Richie # 1 has one thing spot-on—“The unholy alliance of ultralibs and right-wing conservatives who are more concerned about their own jobs, then[sic] the agenda of their state or country—well any system would be better.”
At every level of government we have these bozos who know a sinecure (definition:“an office or position that requires little or no work and that usually provides an income”)when they see one—just get elected.
We have sacrificed good behavior and good morals to the altar of “diversity”. It ain’t “diversity” to allow gangbangers, drug dealers, and rioters to do what they do to the detriment of polite society.
The PC crowd seems to forget that your rights end when they unreasonably infringe upon the rights of others.
So, we have a whole bunch of legitimate dowtown entertainment venues that would like to attract a crowd of well-behaved , paying customers to their venues. They are stymied in their hopes and dreams by the bad apples who open up clubs that cater to the crowd that wants to cause trouble; e.g “he looked at me wrong, or he wore the wrong colors.”
Result: a police dept. that is overwhelmed in guaranteeing public safety; and that sometimes takes a public stance that results in the ordinary citizen who wants to have a good time becoming victimized by the a**sholes and those who defend their right to be a**sholes. All the law-abiding people who want to have a good time downtown become victims of both the a**ssholes and the system. THAT AIN’T RIGHT!
It doesn’t take an Einstein to figure out where the trouble is, and who causes it. Shut them down! Conditional use permits with restrictions upon violence, drug activity, etc. should be relatively easy to implment…if there is the will.
We are talking about District #3 here, and it’s current representative wants to be our next mayor. So, why is she MIA on this issue? In fact, she’s MIA on every issue. Answer: becasue she is part of the PC crowd who believes that the a**sholes’ rights somehow supercede the rights of the law-abiding people of San Hozay. I guess she’s waiting for her handlers to tell her what her positions ought to be.
What a glorious election day!
All at once the voters repudiate:
Arnie and his politics of hate and greed;
the ethically warped Steve Poizner, a billionaire who crusades against families struggling on minimum wage;
the corporate lackeys on the Mercury-News Editorial Board; and
Tom McEnery – the most persistently pathetic whiner in the whole Silicon Valley.
Glorious.