Gilroy
– A new survey shows that a broad majority of California
residents support Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s plans to redraw the
state’s legislative districts even though the governor’s support
overall approval is slipping.
Gilroy – A new survey shows that a broad majority of California residents support Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s plans to redraw the state’s legislative districts even though the governor’s support overall approval is slipping.
The survey, released Monday by the conservative Rose Institute of State and Local Government at Claremont McKenna College, found that 69 percent of likely voters believe legislative districts should be drawn by a commission independent of the state legislature.
The governor is supporting a possible ballot measure that would give redistricting power to a panel of retired judges as soon as next year.
Monday, State Senator Abel Maldonado, R-Santa Maria, who district reaches unincorporated Gilroy, reiterated his support for redrawing districts.
“The system we have now is equivalent to the fox guarding the hen house and it’s not working,” he said.
Support for the measure has broken down along party lines, with Democrats strongly opposed. Proponents of the measure say the change is needed to level the playing field for both parties. Redistricting done after the 2000 census, they say, ignored geographic boundaries in favor of political considerations.
The district of Democratic Assemblyman Simón Salinas, which was previously concentrated in Salinas and South County, now stretches from Milpitas to the southern edge of Monterey County but doesn’t include Morgan Hill or San Martin, which are represented by John Laird, D-Santa Cruz. The 30 minute drive from Hollister to Morgan Hill passes through four congressional districts. Last year incumbents retained all of the 153 assembly, senate and congressional seats up for grabs in the state.
Salinas Spokesman Frank Molina said Monday that the assemblyman favors redrawing district lines along geographic boundaries but doesn’t want to do it until after the 2010 census.
