Posted on 05/17/2005 5:44:32 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
SACRAMENTO (AP) - Secretary of State Bruce McPherson cast more doubt Tuesday on the need for a special November election, saying the new legislative and congressional districts sought by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger can't be in place for elections next year.
"There's no way I can see that we can make 2006," McPherson, California's top elections official, told members of the Sacramento Press Club. "Maybe 2008, but that's a question mark."
Schwarzenegger announced in January that he wanted to take the power to draw the districts away from the Legislature and have a panel of retired judges draw new lines in time for 2006 balloting.
He's threatening to call a special election in November to give voters a chance to approve an initiative that would make that change. Schwarzenegger proposals to cut state spending and lengthen the amount of time new teachers remain on probation could also be on that ballot.
But county election officials have questioned whether there would be enough time for the former judges to draw new districts and for counties to do the extra work needed to put the new lines in place by the June 2006 primary.
On Tuesday, McPherson, a former Republican state senator appointed by Schwarzenegger in February to replace former Secretary of State Kevin Shelley, agreed with his local counterparts in a question-and-answer session at a Press Club luncheon.
A spokeswoman for McPherson, Caren Daniels-Meade, said the secretary of state felt that logistical problems, questions about the accuracy of population figures that would be used for a mid-decade redistricting and a flood of lawsuits would hold up implementing the new districts.
McPherson said new districts could probably be in place by 2010. But doing it then would raise questions about timing, since the panel of ex-judges would have new population figures to work with from the 2010 census if they waited until 2011 to act.
Schwarzenegger's press secretary, Margita Thompson, said the Republican governor was "more optimistic" than McPherson about the chances for new districts to be in place for 2006.
"The bottom line is we need it as soon as possible," she said.
Bill Mundell, chairman of Californians for Fair Redistricting, a group involved in gathering signatures to put the redistricting initiative on the ballot, said significant advances in technology have made drawing new lines for 2006 "eminently doable."
He predicted that court challenges to the new lines would be dealt with quickly and that the population figures available for a mid-decade redistricting, while out of date, would be good enough to produce fair elections.
But Assemblyman Tom Umberg, the chairman of the Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee, said there was "no need to rush to judgment with a wasteful special election."
"Bruce McPherson recognizes what reality is and why it's futile to pour so much money into a special election and a redistricting process that can't have any impact until after the 2006 elections," the Santa Ana Democrat said.
Schwarzenegger contends that districts drawn by lawmakers in a bipartisan compromise following the 2000 census tended to lock up districts for the incumbent's party.
He says a panel of retired judges wouldn't have a conflict of interest and would be more likely to produce more competitive seats, although California's pattern of heavily Republican and heavily Democratic areas may make that difficult.
Some Democrats see Schwarzenegger's push for mid-decade changes as an attempt to elect more Republicans.
What ever happened to the ol' 'Can Do' spirit?
Has it been moderated out of existence?
Yup, the Gub sure can pick 'em.
Pension Reform: Abandoned
Merit Pay: Abandoned
Spending Cap: Abandoned, selects weak alternative with no teeth
Redistricting: Problems with impementation -- Per SOS McPherson (R)
Tenure Pay: Good idea, but hardly merits special election
Public Union Contributions: Arnold "distances himself"
But tomorrow's another day, and who knows what it shall bring?
Here's to hoping this is the Gub's way of reprising Muhammad Ali's Rope-a-Dope strategy ..
Any idea what Arnold's position is on the Parental Notification initiative for abortion?
I haven't seen anyone cover it in the news.
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