Posted on 08/04/2006 2:01:03 PM PDT by calcowgirl
The much discussed idea of removing the Legislature from the process of political map drawing is again the subject of some intense discussions at the Capitol.
On Thursday, Governor Schwarzenegger met privately with a group of strong supporters of redistricting, including former Senate GOP Leader Jim Brulte, former Democratic Assemblymember Fred Keeley, and Proposition 77 author/recall proponent Ted Costa. A senior advisor to the governor said in the meeting, Schwarzenegger pledged to spend much of next week trying to win passage of the current redistricting proposal, SCA 3 by Sen. Alan Lowenthal (D-Long Beach). State elections officials have suggested that any additional items for the November ballot should be approved by the Legislature by next Friday... a tight timeline.
But as reported yesterday (here), there's still some skepticism in the Legislature, especially among some Senate Democrats who balked at the plan in a closed-door caucus last month (a meeting that just happened to take place after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld much of the Texas legislature's political map drawing authority, in a case from 2003).
Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata (D-Oakland), who had intended to have already moved SCA 3 forward, jokingly told reporters yesterday that "my predecessor (John Burton) always warned me about having caucuses."
Schwarzenegger apparently wants to give it another push. However, most everyone agrees that two issues must be worked out: can the proposal to hand over district drawing power wait for the 2008 ballot? And to put it there, will enough legislators need a 'sweetener' for this deal-- namely, a modification of the state's 16-year-old term limits law?
An administration official confirms term limits were talked about in the private meeting yesterday, mainly to see whether the issue does in fact need to be part of the deal. And as for a 2006 ballot measure versus a 2008 ballot measure... Perata said yesterday that he favors 2008,while an aide to the governor said Schwarzenegger is "open" to other options.
It's actually SCA 3 by Sen. Alan Lowenthal (D-Long Beach) AND Roy Ashburn (R-Bakersfield). The press never understand the difference between Joint Authors and Co-Authors. It is appropriate to leave of mention of Co-Authors, but Joint Authors really are part and parcel of the drafting and working of the bill through its entire process. Got that everyone? Lowenthal AND Ashburn.
bttt
We watch the libs closely on this one. With the FLOOD of illegal Mexicans into this country, this state has become even more vulnerable to liberal gerrymandering. I say this, as if the state has not been damaged by liberals enough already...
Thursday, August 03, 2006
Perata Speaks, Makes NewsFor reporters that have grown, let's say, complacent with the slow pace around the Capitol during the summer recess, Senate President Don Perata (D-Oakland) provided some nuggets of news today on the minimum wage, redistricting, prison reform, and more.
Without further ado, the highlights from his afternoon news conference...
* Minimum Wage: In what sounded like a break from many of his fellow Democrats, Perata told reporters he'd be willing to abandon efforts to attach a mechanism for future automatic minimum wage increases (known as "indexing") if the hourly wage goes up by more than the current proposal of an extra $1 an hour. "I would trade indexing for a buck-and-a-half, I'll just tell you that flat out," he said. Labor unions and others have maintained that future increases linked to the cost of living are essential. The issue is currently under discussion both through legislation at the Capitol, and a special committee of the state's Industrial Welfare Commission (which meets tomorrow morning).
* Redistricting: The Senate leader all but squelched any hope for supporters of a redistricting proposal to be on the November ballot. Perata, who has continually sounded doubts that the issue is really a pressing one for average citizens, said he now wants the current bill-- SCA 3 by Sen. Alan Lowenthal (D-Long Beach) [AND Sen. Roy Ashburn (R-Bakersfield)] -- to get out of his chamber in 2006, but with amended language that places it before the voters in 2008. "I frankly feel it would be a huge mistake putting it on this November's ballot," he said. Perata explained the delay on the fact that lawmakers still need to sort out the details, and also that the November ballot is already "congested" with a lot of other propositions. And Perata went on to say that he thinks SCA 3 still suffers from the same problem as did last year's defeated Proposition 77: that retired judges would still be a part of the redistricting process (though in this instance, they would not draw political maps-- rather, they would choose the panel of citizens who would draw the maps).
* Term Limits: Perata also seemed to scuttle any notion of a proposal this year to modify the state's term limits law, regardless of whether it is linked to redistricting (as has been the buzz at the Capitol for months). "If it's done by the Legislature," he said, "it will be tremendously scrutinized" by the public.
(snip)
Yep! See post 5.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=14&entry_id=7721
Schwarzenegger backing new redistricting push
After meeting yesterday with a group of politically well-connected insiders who are pushing for redistricting reform, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has committed to trying to quickly get the idea through the Legislature next week and onto the ballot for the November election, sources say.
Schwarzenegger has long been a champion of changing the way voting districts are created ... the governor has now pledged to try and fast-track redistricting reform, which will be officially announced at a Tuesday press conference in Sacramento by supporters of the idea.
Schwarzenegger met Thursday with a bipartisan group of supporters, including former Senate Republican Leader Jim Brulte, former Democratic Assemblyman Fred Keeley and the president of the League of Women Voters. The group is expecting legislation by state Sen. Alan Lowenthal, D-Long Beach [AND Sen. Roy Ashburn, R-Bakersfield], will be at the center of the debate next week, although there are still some internal debates going on over the specifics of the bill. The basic difference between the current proposal and the one Schwarzenegger supported last year is who will determine districts -- the governor's idea was to allow retired judges to do it; that has been thrown out in favor of a citizen's commission.
Whether Schwarzenegger will be able to muscle the legislation through the Legislature so quickly remains to be seen.
(snip)
I have been an admirerer of State Senator Ashburn for many years now!!!
I think Senator Ashburn should have been allowed to run against Governor Schwartzenegger in the Republican Primary Election this past June that the chicken chit CAGOP forclosed any competition on.
I'm not sure Roy would even have run, but I'd put his character, integrity and statesmanship up against that fat-head Schwartzenegger's any day of any week!!!
Let me be one of the first... ASHBURN FOR GOVERNOR, 2008!!!
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