I’ve got nothing against white males. After all, I am one. But when it comes to a panel pretending to represent the state, these are some very disconcerting numbers:
The deadline for Californians to apply for a first-of-its-kind citizens commission to draw districts for legislative elections ended Tuesday night with the field of applicants tilting heavily toward white men. Of the nearly 31,000 applications received, whites submitted 70 percent, far higher than their 41 percent share of California’s population. (SacBee)
Latinos were the most heavily under-represented, with only about 11.5% in the pool despite their 37% share of the state’s population.
During the Prop 11 campaign, minority organizations across the state opposed this nonsense, saying that this exact situation would occur. And sure enough, here we are. I hope everybody remembers this day when the ballot proposition to use a similar pattern to redistrict Congress comes up. Well, I’ll do my best to remind, anyway.
Despite these bad numbers, there were still 31,000 applicants. So, we should expect to see a decently representative first cut as the auditor’s office does the work to balance things out. But if you applied, and you are a Latino female? Well, expect a call.
In the end, my best guess of how this works is that we’ll get a map that is perhaps a bit more “blockish”, but still producing similar numbers of similarly partisan Republicans and Democrats. At heart, Prop 11 misses the simple truth that we have self-sorted over the past 50 years. There’s no way to draw a competitive seat in SF or in far Northeastern California. Just isn’t, no matter how dedicated these people are.
So, maybe we’ll get a map, maybe we’ll just go back to the judges. Either way, not a whole lot changes, and the state is pout $5 million or so. Sounds like a great plan guys, can’t we emulate this everywhere!
I totally would’ve applied for it, being latino, gay, vetically-challenged, and earning less than 30,000 a year. Perhaps my chances would’ve been good? 😉
It will be interesting to see how this all pans out, from the process, to the end result. Much as I had reservations about the intiative when it was on the ballot, I ended up voting for it, since in my mind, it at least addressed the problem of gerrymandering in some form. That said, I’m disapointed to hear about the poor representation of minorities.
In regards to district competitinevess, I once heard someone joke that a truly competitive district would start on the coast and stretch into the central part of the state, like spokes on a wheel.
And this is somehow the white man’s fault???
And how many of these “under represented” latinos are illegal and should have no representation to begin with???
And those blockish districts you speak of combined with open primaries will dramatically alter the political landscape. Social conservatives will be deservedly marginalized in Republican primaries. And the tax takers on the so-called liberal side will have there numbers reduced. Add a part time legislature (50/50 it passes is my guess)
No libertarian paradise to be sure but tax levels not raised or heaven forbid dropping slightly would make me andTHE VAST MAJORITY of Californians quite happy 🙂
And to all my liberal co-tenants of the state…
Please work to do good by teaching a kid to read, adopting an orphan, or perhaps volunteering in your community…
As long as it does not involve digging further into my pocket we’re cool. The feud will be over LOL