Tuesday, February 15, 2005

Pavley Takes Stand on Standards



Timm Herdt, the Ventura county Star's Sacramento bureau Chief and chief Apologist/Cheerleader for the California Democrat Party has written a PUFF piece on Assemblywoman Fran Pavley.

Read it here.

Here lies the problem with redistricting and the electoral process for the California Legislature.

Pavley, a little known environmental activist, city councilwoman from a small suburban Los Angeles County city would never have won a contested election in an assembly district evenly apportioned. Her left wing pro-Kyoto treaty ideals would never have passed a bi-partisanly elected legislature (and signed by a recalled California Governor Gray Davis). Californians would not be faced with paying an additonal $3,000 per vehicle purchase to combat a dubious environmental concern with CO2 gases.

California Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, has announced a reform agenda in his annual State of the State address.

The California Republican Assembly Caucus reports:

"Assembly Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy, of Bakersfield, has announced that he has introduced legislation to create a fair, non-partisan process for redrawing political district lines in California. The amendment is part of the governor’s reform package highlighted in the State of the State address.

“Many of the problems plaguing our state are a direct result of partisanship choking the legislative process,” McCarthy said. “I applaud the governor’s bold vision, including plans to transform the way legislative districts are drawn. The current redistricting process only promotes partisanship, and denies millions of Californians a voice.”

McCarthy’s measure, Assembly Constitutional Amendment 3, introduced in the special session called by the governor, puts redistricting in the hands of an independent panel of retired judges. The judges will be selected randomly from a pool established by the California Judicial Council. The proposed constitutional amendment requires the judges to redraw district lines to ensure that districts are as compact as possible, and that city and county boundaries are preserved as much as possible.

“In the past, district lines have been drawn to protect incumbents,” McCarthy said. “Under this reform, elected officials will be more accountable to those who elect them, not to Sacramento’s special interests. This constitutional amendment takes the power away from the politicians and gives it to the people.”

Let us hope that the courts and Congress derail the Pavley Bill.

Let's hope the people and/or the California Legislature change the electoral process. We need fewer socialist idealogues and more balanced representation in Sacramento.

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