From Fred Ortega’s article in the Whittier Daily News: Portantino is still not likely a favorite for the speaker post, said Claremont McKenna College politics professor Jack Pitney. “But at this point he has a reasonable chance,” Pitney said. “He is very well connected both in his professional and personal life, and that is very… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Rose Report
Dr. Pitney on McCain in California
From John Marelius’ article in the Union-Tribune: California Republicans are confident that in Sen. John McCain they have a presidential candidate who can put California back in the Republican column for the first time in two decades. The question facing the all-but-official GOP nominee is whether it is too expensive to try. “He’d definitely be… Continue Reading
Our Steadfast Goal: Redistricting Reform
Steven Maviglio asserts (and he insists he is “not making this up” – always a dead giveaway) that redistricting is being sold to California voters “as the way to balance the budget, solve immigration problems, and create a fair tax system.” And he insidiously links this selling to what he spuriously calls the “right-leaning Rose… Continue Reading
Rose Institute Mentioned by Governor
Steven Maviglio at the California Majority Report has the low down on the new way redistricting reform will be presented to the voters. See especially the last sentence, referring to the Rose Institute: Partisan redistricting will get new packaging — After six straight times being rejected by voters, political consultants are wrapping redistricting as the… Continue Reading
Unintended Consequences of Texas Gerrymandering
Mayhill Fowler has a good entry over at the huffingtonpost regarding the Texas Gerrymander’s effect on the upcoming Texas Democratic Primary. Here are a few highlights: “In 1992, a panel of three Reagan-appointed federal judges in Texas approved a state senate redistricting map that gave Republicans control of the Texas state senate for the first… Continue Reading
Failure of 93 & Redistricting
Richard Matteis’ commentary at the California Farm Bureau Federation: There is considerable speculation about why the electorate turned down the proposal, but one key factor for many was the belief that changing term limits should be coupled with redistricting reform. As most know, the current legislative districts have been drawn in a fashion to make… Continue Reading
American Bar Association Supports Reform
According to a recent press release the American Bar Association is now urging “each state to assign the process to an independent commission, leaving it to the states to configure the commissions and set suitable redistricting criteria.” “The ABA is continually identifying areas where current legal systems are not working, and suggesting sensible approaches for… Continue Reading
Redistricting Reform in Pennsylvania
From The Intelligencer this article provides instances of legislators behaving better because of competition and Pennsylvania’s own work on redistricting reform: DeWeese had been one of the biggest opponents of openness in state government.He could afford to thumb his nose at the public. His legislative district is drawn to make sure that he seldom faced… Continue Reading
Obama and Redistricting
Responses submitted to the Midwest Democracy Network indicate that Barrack Obama is against mid-decade redistricting and in favor of an independent redistricting commission. The entire questionaire is available as a .pdf here, the relevant sections are quoted below: Issue: Once-A-Decade Redistricting Question V-A: As President, would you support federal legislation prohibiting states from redrawing valid… Continue Reading
Redistricting Reform Fails in Virginia
Here is an article from the Daily Press in Virginia about their attempt at reform: Self-preservation drove the House Republicans to torpedo the measure that would have created a bipartisan panel to revise General Assembly and congressional district boundaries in 2011, following the 10-year U.S. Census cycle. They know, everyone knows, that their party’s control… Continue Reading