Pro and con sides of Proposition 11 trade shots

By Ben van der Meer, PolitickerCA.com Senior Reporter

The forces supporting and opposing the redistricting measure, Proposition 11, used polls, rankings and recent rhetoric to make the case for their side this week.

The "Yes on 11" campaign pointed to statements by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Wednesday that a donation from a prison guards union to a campaign committee fund controlled by State Senate Pro Tem Don Perata (D-Oakland) made the case for why redistricting reform is needed.

Jeannine English of the AARP, one of the groups backing the measure, filed a complaint Thursday with the California Fair Political Practices Commission over the donation, saying it should've been donated directly to a No on 11 campaign fund.

The group also took note of a Public Policy Institute of California poll released Wednesday which showed 39 percent support for - to 36 percent against - the measure among likely California voters.

"This poll shows clearly that voters support, by a wide margin, taking away the power of politicians to draw their own districts and putting that power into the hands of a citizens' commission," said English and Kathay Feng of Common Cause, a government watchdog group backing Proposition 11, in a press statement. "And this is exactly what Proposition 11 does."

But Schwarzenegger's words were also seized on by Citizens for Accountability, a group opposing Proposition 11.

Paul Hefner, a spokesman for the group, noted in a press release that Schwarzenegger described Proposition 11 as budget reform, after previously classifying it as "voters first" and "political reform." That was trying to make the measure seem more far reaching than it will actually be, Hefner suggested.

Schwarzenegger, one of the leading proponents of Proposition 11, has said it would make a state budget easier to pass because more moderate legislators would be elected.

If approved, the measure would create a 14-member commission with representation from Democrats, Republicans and third parties to draw new political districts according to criteria such as geographic continuity rather than voter registration trends.

Hefner pointed out that even Republicans elected in districts that swing toward Democrats consistently vote the party line, according to a recent ranking of legislator ideology based on voting record compiled by Capitol Weekly.

Hefner also noted that the swing between support and opposition for Proposition 11 was within the poll's 3 percent margin of error, and below the percentage needed for approval.

"No wonder the latest PPIC poll shows voters want nothing to do with Prop. 11," Hefner noted in the release. "They're not interested in approving a redistricting process that's confusing, complicated and reeks of politics."

Citizens for Accountability later issued another release pointing out that Schwarzenegger recently hosted a fundraiser where donations could go either to a pro-11 campaign fund or Schwarzenegger's Dream Team fund - which itself has donated about $2.4 million to the "Yes on 11" campaign.

Ben van der Meer is a PolitickerCA.com Senior Reporter and can be reached via email at noreply@politicker.com.

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