Proposition 11: A Vote For Change

Every 10 years, the state lawmakers who have mismanaged California's finances and governance get a reward for their hard work. They get to design their own legislative districts.



It's one of the Capitol's most egregious conflicts of interest, and it needs to end. Proposition 11 would end it.



Under the current system, leaders of both parties meet in back rooms and carve up the state after each 10-year census. By dividing up communities based on party prerogatives, they ensure safe seats for incumbents or designated heirs, creating legislative districts that resemble a mix of distorted Rorschach blotches.



Last week's Forum section featured one of these blotches. Assembly District 15 stretches in squiggly fashion from Elk Grove to Walnut Creek, two cities that have little in common. This district was designed to create a safe seat for a Republican legislator, while preventing the dilution of Democratic strength in the rest of the East Bay and Sacramento County.



On that score, it was very successful.



Under Proposition 11, there's less chance for these kinds of Rorschach blotches. This initiative would create a 14-member commission made up of five Democrats, five Republicans and four others that would handle redistricting, including the next one in 2010.



Selection of this commission wouldn't be simple, and that's probably a good thing.



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Critics, including operatives of Sen. President Pro Tem Don Perata and public employee unions, deride Proposition 11 as a "power grab," and on that claim, they're right. Proposition 11 would grab the power from kingpins such as Perata who get to determine, every decade, which candidates can run for certain seats. As is well known, the backroom redistricting deals of 2001 prevented many qualified women, Latinos and African Americans from running for office because their residence was carved into a district dominated by the other party.



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But it's better than the status quo, which is why it is supported by Common Cause, the League of Women Voters, Democrats such as Leon Panetta and Republicans like Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.



If you like how the Capitol is being run, vote against Proposition 11. If you are outraged and want to bring ...