Redistricting in Ohio will help Dems - But Arnold has come out in favor!

[papau]

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/18/national/18ballot.html

Schwarzenegger Enters Debate Over Redistricting in Ohio

By DEAN E. MURPHY
Published: October 18, 2005
SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 17 - Separate ballot measures in California and Ohio to remove lawmakers from the drawing of legislative districts have been dogged by accusations that they are essentially partisan power grabs.

Now Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, hopes to counter those claims by throwing his weight behind the Ohio measure, even though no prominent Republican elected official in that state has done so and many Republican lawmakers there are raising money to defeat it.

A campaign aide to Mr. Schwarzenegger, Darrel Ng, said Monday that the governor endorsed the Ohio measure, known on the Nov. 8 ballot as Issue 4, though he has not said so publicly. A top supporter of the measures in both states said Mr. Schwarzenegger would participate in a series of public events this week to signal his stance.

"He has agreed to do it," said the supporter, Chellie Pingree, president of Common Cause, a watchdog group that is pushing for redistricting changes in more than a dozen states, including California and Ohio.<snip>

[Czolgosz]

1. Where was he when DeLay illegally gerrymandered Texas?

[Joe Chi Minh]

2. Perhaps he can see the writing on the wall

and wants to distance himself.

[MaineDem]

3. I think he's right in this

I believe redistricting should not be done by the politicians. Regardless of which party is in power. I agree with Common Cause and the Gropinator (barf) on this one.

[papau]

4. I agree - it hurt me also to agree with Gropee - but he is right

:toast:

[Tiggeroshii]

5. Likewise

They are clearly the right thing to do. Do you know if the Ohio redistricting will be as immediate as our prop 77 will be?

[MaineDem]

6. Sorry, I don't know (nt)

[Tiggeroshii]

11. I looked it up. It will actually not become law until the next odd

numbered year following it's passage, in case you were wondering as well. So that'd be 2007...

[formernaderite]

10. agreed...your representative should actually represent an area

not an artificial battleground.

[Mountainman]

7. Who controls the list of judges that will do the redistricting?

Why are repukes so in California in favor of this issue? Because it is the only way they can undo the mess they created for themselves when they went against prop 187.


I don't want to hand over our state to the corporations like Bush is handing the rest of the country.

Leave things as they are. We are in power now. Why risk that? Because we are just nice people and we want to play fair?

[Gormy Cuss]

8. Why, this is one way for Arnold to beat Taft

Schwarzenegger's been gaining ground on Taft in the race to be the governor with the lowest approval rating. This might just put him in the lead.

There is no excuse for Common Cause's support of the Schwarzenegger-backed California measure.

On-edit: interestingly,the League of Women Voters supports Ohio's plan, but turned thumbs down on Arnold's.

[wiley]

9. Sure he wasn't just in the area

for the Neo-Nazi march?

[AntiFascist]

12. Um, but he is only the governor of CALIFORNIA....

and the proposed California redistricting measure would favor Republicans!