Thanks to Shane Goldmacher of Capitol Alert for the link: Redistricting is an inherently political process, as the adage goes. So Brian Olson, a computer programmer whose Web site says he works for Google, designed a computer program to automatically draw district boundaries based on the principle that allows people to “have the lowest average… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Archive
Dr. Pitney on McCain's Fundraising in California
From Mary Anne Ostrom’s article in the Mercury News: While raising money, “he has to make it appear that he’s going to compete in California come the fall,” said Jack Pitney, a Claremont McKenna College government professor and former Republican political operative. Although given the competitive outlook in other easier states for Republicans, “at this… Continue Reading
Computer Redistricting
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
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