Local Dems blast redistricting plan Local Dems blast redistricting plan (June 17, 2005)

Governor's proposal won't help, Assemblywoman Lieber says

By Jon Wiener

Calling it a "Texas-style power grab," local officials attacked Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposal to redraw political boundaries in California.

Schwarzenegger, who wants to empower an independent panel of judges to redraw the state's Assembly districts, says his intension is to make Assembly races more competitive. That goal may sound attractive to voters, but the governor's plan would ultimately give even more power to rich corporations and lobbyists, according to Assembly member Sally Lieber.

"I think that the only thing that it will do is guarantee that people spend 100 percent of their time campaigning or fund-raising and trying to hold onto political offices," she said. "Things are already fragmented enough without needing to raise $400,000 every two years."

Lieber hasn't had to spend much time campaigning since she won the 2002 Democratic primary in her heavily Democratic district. Last November, she cruised to victory against Republican opponent Marie Dominguez Gasson, a 20-year-old Santa Clara University student armed with about $650 in campaign funds.

Seats in the state's two houses have changed parties only a few times since the Legislature undertook its own gerrymandering effort four years ago, after the 2000 census. Gov. Schwarzenegger said an independent group of judges would be able to come up with a more impartial plan.

Mid-decade redistricting efforts are rare, but not unprecedented. In an infamous recent example, Republicans in the Texas statehouse -- driven by U.S. House majority leader Tom Delay's stated quest for more seats in Congress -- succeeded in a major redistricting effort. Democrats said the plan was so bald-faced that they left the state in quorum-breaking protest before a judge ordered them back.

Steve Chessin, a Mountain View resident who serves as a member of the County Democratic Committee and is president of Californians for Electoral Reform, said the problem is not the shape of the district but the winner-take-all nature of elections.

"It doesn't really matter who draws the lines," said Chessin. "Whoever draws the lines is going to be determining the nature of the representation for the districts that they draw, rather than the voters of those districts."

Chessin -- who made the "Texas-style power grab" comment -- said a better solution would be to move toward instant runoff voting and proportionate representation, now underway in a handful of cities throughout the state.

The redistricting proposal is one of a host of initiatives that voters will decide on in a November special election, which Schwarzenegger announced during a television appearance Monday evening. The governor has also backed a cap on state spending and a weakening of the teacher tenure system.

E-mail Jon Wiener at jwiener@mv-voice.com

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