Instead of having legislators or a commission redraw lines could we take the “human” element completely out of the process and just have it drawn by a computer? Well Brian Olson has created a program to do that here. He has a simulation of what each states districts might look like. California is posted below:… Continue Reading
Author Archives: Rose Institute
Gerrymandering: The Tool Of Dictators?
With much international focus in the past few days on the elections in Zimbabwe it is interesting to look at how redistricting power has been used and is seen. The AP article on the upcoming elections phrases it this way: “People long cowed into silence by Mugabe’s strong-arm methods are speaking openly against their leader,… Continue Reading
California Forward
A new group, California Forward has been formed to seek sensible reforms to California’s governance structure. There website is here: caforward.org. The nonprofit organization is made up of a 13-member bipartisan board. According to a Sacramento Bee article the group has sizable resources ($15.9 million three-year budget) and the ability raise more. They will play… Continue Reading
Colorado’s Different Redistricting Approach
The California coalition working toward redistricting reform has produced an initiative that does not include congressional districts and has no requirement for competitiveness. However a recent bill that passed a Colorado State Senate committee takes an opposite approach. Reported in the Denver Post, SB 198 would add a criteria (ONLY to congressional redistricting) attempting an… Continue Reading
Walters on Low Turnout and the Eminent Domain Initiatives
From Dan Walters’ Sacramento Bee column: One consequence of the state’s first February presidential primary election – unintended, perhaps, but a consequence nevertheless – will almost certainly be an extraordinarily low voter turnout for the June 3 regular primary. Primary elections generally see subpar turnouts, in part because independents have almost no motivation to vote.… Continue Reading
Dr. Pitney on the California Democrat Majority
From Steven Harmon’s article in the Mercury News: The biggest obstacle to a Democratic tidal wave: districts that Democrats themselves had a hand in drawing seven years ago that protect the majority party in each and make it hard for the opposing party to mount a credible challenge. “If they had drawn more competitive seats,”… Continue Reading
Right time for reform?
George Skelton in the LA Times has an article in which he looks at the political timing of the reform initiative. One interesting aspect is to look at what could have happened if the redistricting commission had been in place earlier. “Democrats whine and moan that they can’t get a two-thirds vote for the budget,”… Continue Reading
Dr. Steven Frates on Public Employee Pensions & Municipal Budgets
From the article by Stephen Moore, senior economics writer for the Wall Street Journal editorial page, in the Weekly Standard: “Pensions are the second biggest line item in most municipal budgets today behind law enforcement,” says Steven Frates, a professor at Claremont McKenna College and an expert on California’s pensions system. He adds that “the… Continue Reading
Douglas M. Johnson on Roving City Council Meetings
From Alison Hewitt’s article in the San Gabriel Valley Tribune: It’s an issue many cities struggle with, said Doug Johnson, a fellow at the Rose Institute for State and Local Government at Claremont McKenna College. “If some parts of town feel ignored, it’s a very high profile, symbolic way of showing that you’re paying attention,”… Continue Reading
Gov. Tim Kaine seeks Reform
According to Tim Craig in the Washington Post, Virgnia Governor Tim Kaine said the State needed redistricting reform in his annual State of the Commonwealth address. The Virginia Senate passed a reform bill last year that died in the House. The Senate and House are currently split (Democratic Senate, Republican House,)which will make the 2011… Continue Reading