The first salvo has been fired in the looming battle over who controls redistricting in California. Is it CCPOA, their special interest allies and their chief water carrier Senate Pro Tem Don Perata and his loyal subjects in the Legislature or the people of California led by Governor Schwarzenegger?
A just released web ad by the Yes on Proposition 11 folks lays it out pretty clearly.
Is this the same Don Perata who told LA Times columnist George Skelton in 2005, “If voters would reject the governor’s ballot proposition, Perata told me, “Our commitment… is to fashion a bipartisan solution in a thoughtful way and put it on the ballot next year.” Ditto, said Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez (D-Los Angeles).”
Is this the same Don Perata who gathered Democratic leaders together a few months ago and in his invitation to the meeting said the purpose was, “to discuss campaign strategy and organization for the attempt to beat back the effort to take the decennial redistricting out of the hands of the Legislature and give it to a non-political citizens committee.”
”The latest Republican attempt to take control over redistricting away from Democrats has now qualified for the November ballot,” Perata said. ”Proponents know this represents their last best chance to prevent us from protecting and expanding our majorities in the Legislature in the decade to come.”
He ended his call to arms by saying, ”We’re all veterans of this fight and we can win again.”
Senator Perata must have an awful sore mouth seeing as how it has to talk out of both sides simultaneously.
A Republican attempt to take control of their fixed game? The last time I checked three of the key groups supporting Proposition 11, the AARP, Common Cause and the League of Women Voters, were not official arms of the California Republican Party.
But it gets even better. Shockingly the California Democratic Party came out against it as well.
Democratic Party Chairman Art Torres issued a statement when the ballot initiative qualified for the ballot that read in part, ”This flawed initiative would greatly jeopardize minority representation in the California Legislature …While California’s redistricting process is in need of reform, this initiative is not the answer.”
Pray tell Chairman Torres, how do minorities get short changed in this process? How does a citizen’s committee jeopardize minority representation in California? Certainly you are not suggesting that the citizens of California are all racists hell bent on denying their fellow citizens their constitutional rights? And when will we hear your plan to reform the process that you seem to agree is in need of reform?
How about when the nether regions of Hades freeze over.
But let’s cut to the chase.
This is about nothing more than protecting the political power of the majority Democrats and that of their allies like CCPOA. Period. End of statement.
In 2005 Senate Pro Tem Don Perata gave his word that if the voters defeated Prop 77, the redistricting initiative he would fashion a bi-partisan measure the following year.
Before Senator Perata gives his word again he should remember what Napoleon Bonaparte said about making promises you don’t intend to keep.
“The best way to keep one’s word is not to give it.”