Proposition 11
by Luis A. Lopez
Redistricting for the worse!
Proposition 11 is an initiative that is a constitutional amendment and statue that changes authority for establishing Assembly, Senate, and Board of Equalization district boundaries from elected representatives to a 14 member commission made up of five Democrats, five Republicans, and four of neither party. Government auditors will choose the commission members. Auditors will select 60 registered voters from an applicant pool that permits legislative leaders to reduce the pool, then the auditors pick eight commission members by lottery, and those commissioners pick six additional members.
This is a complete contradiction of the Voters FIRST! slogan that supporters of the proposition are trying to market. Proponents of the measure fail to see that the proposition eliminates the vote and the voice of the general public. Instead of making sure that State legislators are not allowed to draw their own district boundaries or to subvert the system and ensure their re-election as implied by the supporters, this proposition is taking the necessary steps in making sure that the general public will never have to re-elect anyone again by having these 14 commissioners picked by bureaucrats. In this proposition two of the biggest political parties are given veto power over almost every decision. It guarantees Democrats and Republicans to have 3 politicians each from the first 8 commissioners that are supposed to be randomly selected even thought it allows legislative leaders to reduce the pool of names that these commissioners will be picked from. This does not give a fair balance to any other party and will let Democrats and Republicans be tyrants with their choosing of the last 6 commissioners in which each of these two parties acquire 2 more politicians. This proposition at no point holds anyone accountable, as supporters claim on television and other media outlets. It simply demonstrates the malice acts that politicians will implement to get more power.
In response to the allegations that Proposition 11 is the people’s choice and that politicians in Sacramento are just trying to make individuals vote No in order to keep the status quo is completely asinine since the biggest supporter of this proposition is California’s Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. If this proposition is to make politicians accountable in Sacramento, than why is Arnold Schwarzenegger and primarily the republicans party in favor of 11? If change is needed than why has the governor never been a maverick in his own party or even in Sacramento? Why is it the California budget is never finished on time and why do these special interest groups want 11 to pass? In Governor Schwarzenegger political career, he has approved massive budget cuts on issues he promised to fund like education and health care and has not been punctual with his work or the California budget. He has helped put California in debt and in need of borrowing money, but has fought to get out of state contributions from corporations and oil companies in order to get 11 passed.
This campaign needs to stop spreading propaganda and get to the issues of it seeking political power and stop hiding behind Californians in order to deceive voters. In the recent presidential Campaigns for Presidential nominee Senator McCain, Governor Sarah Palin kept emphasizing the danger of Democrats getting too much power in government, but has never mentioned that Proposition 11 will be making it possible to add more conservatives to the legislature than ever before by simply lying to voters that this proposition is for reform.
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Fall 2008
Update 1