OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

McCarthy Says Voters Deserve Real Redistricting Reform, Not More Politics

Date: June 28, 2005
Location: Sacramento, CA
Issues: Legislative Branch


McCarthy Says Voters Deserve Real Redistricting Reform, Not More Politics

6/28/2005
For Immediate Release
CONTACT: Morgan Crinklaw
(916) 319-2032

SACRAMENTO - Assembly Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy, of Bakersfield, today issued the following statement on Sen. Alan Lowenthal's SCA 3, which would put political appointees in charge of redrawing California's election districts:

"This measure is not about reform, it is about refusal - the refusal of some politicians to remove themselves from the redistricting process and end a glaring conflict of interest.

"SCA 3 only strengthens the power of politicians by putting their political hacks in control of the system. The seven-member redistricting panel would include five people appointed by politicians and two people from agencies whose annual operating budgets are determined by the Legislature and governor.

"The authors say they agree that there is a problem with the current system, yet this measure wouldn't go into effect until 2010. They also confuse the issue by including references to existing budget deadlines - practically an engraved invitation for a ‘single subject' lawsuit from the special interests who oppose reform.

"If the Democrats are serious about redistricting, they will enact real reform by putting a bipartisan panel of five retired judges in charge of drawing the lines. They should also set concrete criteria for drawing the new lines, unlike the Lowenthal measure, which fails to include important criteria such as a nesting requirement to put two Assembly districts in each Senate district.

"The current system is broken, however this is not the solution to fix it."

http://republican.assembly.ca.gov/members/index.asp?Dist=32&Lang=1&Body=PressReleases&RefID=2745

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