The Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce is proud to have been one of the two co-sponsors of the Proposition 28 – Term Limits Reform – with the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor. In Tuesday’s primary election, Proposition 28 garnered the support of 61 percent of the California voters and passed in every county in the State.
The two organizations created Californians for a Fresh Start and spearheaded a petition drive to place the initiative on the ballot after watching the musical chairs taking place in Sacramento, as elected officials concentrated more on their next election than serving the needs of the public. Voters understood the need to fix term limits and make the legislature more accountable. They saw past the misleading campaign tactics of opponents who were committed to maintaining the status quo. Proposition 28 will do exactly what it says: reduce the allowable time in office from 14 to 12 years without extending the term of any sitting legislator.
Tuesday was also the first election to use the new legislative and congressional districts drawn by the Citizens Redistricting Commission created by Proposition 11 in 2008. The Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce was one of the four original co-sponsors of Proposition 11 with the League of Women Voters of California, California Common Cause and AARP. Previously, legislators had the authority to draw their own districts and maximize the opportunity for re-election by selecting the voters that they wished to represent.
The L.A. Area Chamber and its partnering organizations followed the success of Proposition 11 by joining forces in support of Proposition 14 to create the Top Two primary in June 2010 and the extension of the Citizens Redistricting Commission to Congressional districts in November 2010. All of those ballot initiatives were at play for the first time in the primary election. The California election reforms that the Chamber championed gave the citizens of our state a much stronger voice in the primary election than they have ever had in past when decisions as to the voters and candidates were made behind closed doors by party officials and sitting legislators.
With the passage of Proposition 28, we are continuing these election reforms. The members of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce can take great pride in championing these groundbreaking efforts and statewide partnerships to improve elections and governance for the benefit of the citizens of California, business and the economy of our state.