Posted on 09/18/2006 9:38:14 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
SACRAMENTO — The Legislature, facing the highest turnover in at least a decade this November, will likely more closely match the ethnicity of the Bay Area as it gains additional African-American representation.
With one-third of lawmakers leaving due to the political musical chairs created by term limits, or because of other plans, projections of current races indicate the Legislative Black Caucus may become the largest in its history.
The current caucus has six members — all from Los Angeles County — but three to five new members could hail from the Bay Area, the Inland Empire and San Diego.
Such growth would make it larger than the caucuses for Asian and gay legislators.
"Just at the point that pundits were suggesting that African-American political influence was waning, here we have a scenario where it is increasing some 50 percent in the state Legislature," said Assemblyman Mark Ridley-Thomas, D-Los Angeles, a member of the Black Caucus.
"In a worst-case scenario, there will be as many African-Americans in the Legislature as there have been in history, and potentially more," he said.
The development comes in the wake of an announcement by the National Conference of State Legislatures that three groups of minority state legislators have joined forces.
The national African-American, Hispanic and Native American caucuses of state lawmakers have formed the Super Minority Caucus of State Legislators. There are 956 members.
"Legislators in these three caucuses represent constituencies who face the same issues — inequities in health care services, failing schools, high dropout rates and few economic and employment opportunities in our communities," said New York Assemblyman Felix Ortiz, who is president of the Hispanic national caucus.
"By working together, we hope to send a strong message to the federal government and to corporate America that we will fight for our families until all of our needs are met," he said.
The California Legislature, meanwhile, is expected to lose one or two women members.
Overall, 17 women are leaving the Legislature, although most are expected to be replaced, either by women from the same districts or in seats now held by men.
There are currently 25 women in the Assembly and 12 in the Senate.
Still, Assemblywoman Patty Berg, D-Santa Rosa, the incoming leader of the women's caucus, said the Legislature feels like a "good-old-boys network."
She noted that there are no female statewide officers and only one woman running for major statewide office in November — Sen. Debra Bowen, D-Redondo Beach, who is seeking California's secretary of state post.
"My feeling is we have to get more women, not only registered to vote, but voting — and more women in elected office," Berg said.
"My hope is with the women's legislative caucus next year, we develop the first legislative platform for the women's caucus in history that will focus on working families and specifically target working moms, which is a group that is terribly discriminated against," she said.
The high turnover, mostly due to term limits, will result in a Legislature that will be one of the least experienced in years.
"The Legislature that meets in December will have over one-third of its members having never served a day in state government," said Tim Hodson, director of the Center for California Studies at California State University, Sacramento.
"Therefore, no matter how good they are, they do not have the knowledge, the experience, that's needed to be able to tell the good bill proposals from the lousy bill proposals," Hodson said.
Twelve out of 40 members are being termed out this year in the Senate and 29 out of 80 in the Assembly. That is the highest figure since voters enacted term limits in 1990.
Additionally, some members are leaving before they are forced out in order to run for other offices.
While some lawmakers are swapping legislative houses, analysts said loss of experience in the Legislature will leave those with institutional memory in Sacramento — namely lobbyists and bureaucrats — with more influence than ever.
Voters enacted term limits in 1990, with supporters arguing that it would increase the diversity of officeholders in Sacramento and reduce the corrupting influence of those who have held power for decades.
--gee--maybe Mexifornia will be emulating the success of Africa in a few years---
What? Is that bad to say?
"The national African-American, Hispanic and Native American caucuses of state lawmakers have formed the Super Minority Caucus of State Legislators"
Extraordinary, California legislatures forming a racial phalanx to gain power over the other citizens of the state, and no one will raise a peep.
California legislatures forming a racial phalanx to gain power over the other citizens of the state, and no one will raise a peep.
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Hey, this thread got 3 more comments so far than I expected it to. It's a start ;-)
The PC apparatchiks in Kaleefornia want a Soviet Union with sunshine..
The PC apparatchiks in Kaleefornia want a Soviet Union with sunshine..
No doubt they'll all be members of the slave party.
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