Angry at Sacramento? Apply to fix the state

Orange County Register
December 15th, 2009
By BRIAN JOSEPH, Sacramento Correspondent

Tired of the corrupt politicians in Sacramento? Here’s something you can do about it.

Today through Feb. 12, 2010, the state is taking applications for the first U.S. citizens redistricting commission, an independent body composed of regular California residents who very well could remake the power structure in Sacramento.

The 14 commissioners chosen will wield incredible power to draw the district boundaries of the State Assembly, State Senate and Board of Equalization — power state lawmakers once had, but was taken away from them by the voters in 2008.

All you have to do to be eligible is meet some conflict of interest requirements and be a registered voter who has voted in at least two of the last three general elections and has not changed party affiliation in the past five year. If you make through the lengthy selection process, which includes interviews and a review by the legislative leaders, you’ll literally have the power to shape how state government will look over the next 10 years.

Already, the State Auditor, which is managing the selection process, has received over 300 applicants.


For those of you unfamiliar with redistricting and why its so important here’s a little background. Every decade following the federal government’s Census, California embarks on redrawing its legislative districts to reflect the changes in population. Before voters approved Proposition 11 in 2008, state lawmakers had the power to draw the boundaries of the very districts they represent. This effectively allowed lawmakers to choose who they represented, rather than voters choosing who represents them.

And how did they use this power? To protect their political parties.

You see, every 10 years the Republicans and the Democrats in the State Legislature would get together and draw Assembly, State Senate, Board of Equalization and U.S. Congressional districts that were either overwhelmingly Republican or overwhelming Democrat. This ensured that the overall number of Republicans and Democrats in the Legislature didn’t change.

It also removed any incentive for the Republicans and Democrats in the Legislature to compromise. If you’re a Republican representing a majority of Republicans, it’s not in your interest to compromise with the Democrats — you could lose out to a tougher Republican come the next election.

Many, including Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, believed this self-serving redistricting process created the gridlock we see in Sacramento today.

Prop. 11 sought to change all that by establishing a citizens commission to handle the redistricting. The idea was that if regular people drew the districts, they would draw boundaries without considering voter registration, which in turn would create more balanced districts. More balanced districts would lead to more moderate (and more cooperative-minded politicians), which would lead to less gridlock. And everybody wants that.

But in order to eliminate any party opposition, there had to be some concessions. The Legislature retains its power to draw Congressional district boundaries — the Democrats wanted to protect Nancy Pelosi — and legislative leaders have the ability to remove up to 24 finalists from the pool of candidates.

Here’s how the application process will work. From now through Feb. 12, California residents can apply for the commission on www.wedrawthelines.ca.gov. The online application asks basic questions about your demographics and political involvement. Prop. 11 specifically prohibits former elected officials, lobbyists and big-time political donors from participating in the commission.

The State Auditors office is in charge of initially screening the applicants and determining who meets the baseline requirements. From there the qualified applicants will be asked for fill out a more detailed form, which will be reviewed by an Applicant Review Panel. The panel will narrow the pool of applicants down to 120, who will be interviewed, with their interviews being posted online.

Based on the interviews, the pool will be narrowed down to 60. Legislative leaders will then have the opportunity to remove up 24 people from the pool of applicants. From the remaining pool, 14 names will be randomly selected.

The commission is required to be composed of five Republicans, five Democrats and four people who are not a member of either party. The entire process will be transparent, with the State Auditors office posting applicants and interviews and will regularly tally where applications are coming from.

We’ll literally be able to watch, every step of the way, as applicants make their way through the process. The State Auditor, Elaine Howle, had made it so that the public really does have the ability to monitor the whole process to ensure there’s no funny business.

As she said in a press conference this morning, this is a historic undertaking by the state — and it very well could lead to a better-functioning state government.

So if you’re interested, check it out. It costs nothing to apply.

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