I mentioned the possibility of a partisan redistricting commission a couple of days ago.  Long story short, the Rose Institute, a long-time conservative leaning “good government” organization had some serious connections to Republicans.  Notably, the project lead had actually worked for a Republican Congressman.  And when they were asked about their donors, they declined saying that there was no conflict of interest.

Well, it seems that decision has come back to bite them, as they were disqualified by the commission.  The commissioners then went on to unanimously appoint Karin McDonald of Berkeley’s Statewide Database and Research Center as the consultant responsible for drawing the maps.  McDonald is a DTS voter who has never worked for Democrats.

Of course, there is still likely to be something of a stir about this, as Rose Institute still has five days to challenge their disqualification.

note: title changed to show correct prop title.