FLASHREPORT

REDISTRICTING REFORM -- ONE LAST CHANCE...

A column exclusively penned for the FlashReport by State Senator Roy Ashburn.

Yesterday was a momentous occasion in history. A legislative body voted to reduce its own power in the interest of good governance.   Flying in the face of skeptical political pundits statewide, the California Senate passed Senate Constitutional Amendment 3, keeping alive the drive to reform legislative redistricting in the current legislative session.

Earlier in the week legislative leaders had indicated that redistricting reform would be put off until next year.  My colleague, Senator Alan Lowenthal  (D-Long Beach) and I however, chose not to discard our redistricting measure.   Too many people have put too much time and effort into making fair and non-partisan redistricting a reality for us to abandon our hard work without a Senate vote.  Our resolve paid off. We were able to convince two-thirds of the Senate on Wednesday to support our measure, and SCA 3 passed with the required 27 votes.

The often quoted statistic is that out of 153 California legislative and congressional offices on the ballot in 2004, not a single one changed partisan hands.  While most voters can’t quote the figures off the top of their head, there is indeed a prevailing sense that competitive campaigns are rare in California of late.  Surely that knowledge contributes to the wariness and suspicion of elected officials that the public opinion polls consistently reveal.

California’s voters have previously rejected redistricting reform proposals; the most recent was Proposition 77 on last November’s special election ballot.  Taking redistricting out of the hands of the legislature has remained popular with Californians.  Voters however, have been wary of the previously proposed redistricting panels which evoked images of smoky backroom deals between back-slapping cronies.

In response to the concerns over potential rigged deals and partisan one-upmanship, SCA 3 creates a bipartisan citizens commission – not judges or politicians – to draw the political boundaries.  The measure goes to great lengths to assure bipartisan balances throughout the entire redistricting panel selection process, which is what Californians expect.  

According to a poll taken earlier this year, two thirds of voters support taking redistricting out of the hands of the legislature and upwards of eighty percent support many of key provisions of SCA 3 such as a partisan balance on the redistricting panel.  Even a majority of those who opposed Proposition 77 in November of 2005 support the basic concept behind SCA 3 and its citizen commission – taking redistricting out of the hands of the legislature.

After the contentious special election of 2005, Democratic leaders acknowledged the very real concern of Californians for a sensible redistricting process.  Senate President Don Perata and Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez pledged to work for a redistricting plan to be placed on the November 2006 ballot.  In recent weeks though, both have come under immense pressure from some members of their own caucuses who are reluctant to relinquish control over these levers of political power.

To his credit, Senator Perata delivered on his promise and cast one of the 27 Senate votes allowing SCA 3 to pass.  All eyes are now on Assembly Speaker Núñez who last week told the editorial board of the San Francisco Chronicle that he supports SCA 3 and redistricting reform.  "It would be a missed opportunity if we don't do it this year," Núñez said.  

Now is the time for Núñez to deliver.  As Speaker of the Assembly he has the ability to usher SCA 3 through his house in a prompt, expeditious manner.  With the legislative session scheduled to end August 31, there is barely a week left to join Senator Perata in keeping the promise they made to Californians at the outset of this legislative session.

There are those who claim we need more hearings, more discussion, more debate and more delays.  SCA 3 however, has been amended, studied, and well thought out.  A bipartisan two-thirds of the California Senate agrees.  More importantly, with over 30 new legislators expected after this November’s elections there will be a whole new crop of politicians with careers at stake in the upcoming 2010 reapportionment and redistricting.  If serious reform is ever to happen through the legislature, it must be now.

My Democrat colleagues are fond of lamenting the effects of citizen initiatives that have been enacted in California over the years.  They bemoan Proposition 13, Three Strikes, and Term Limits on an almost daily basis.  Yet each of the citizen revolts that created those initiatives came about because the public became fed up with an unresponsive legislature unwilling to address an important issue.  SCA 3 is the legislature’s last chance for redistricting reform before citizens take matters into their own hands again.  If we fail to pass this fair and reasonable reform plan then I don’t believe we ever will, and I for one will line up with the fed-up voters to sign the petition for the next initiative.

Speaker Núñez, it’s up to you now.
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You can write to Senator Ashburn here.

BIOGRAPHY
Roy Ashburn represents the residents of the 18th Senate District, which includes Kern, Tulare, Inyo and San Bernardino Counties. The Republican legislator was first elected to the Legislature's upper house in 2002. He previously served as a State Assemblyman for six years and a Kern County Supervisor for 12 years.

Ashburn’s legislative efforts have focused on creating jobs and boosting economic development, reforming California's welfare system, reducing crime and increasing public safety, cutting taxes and restoring the ability of local governments to oversee their own affairs.