Sea Power - Hail Holy Queen

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Leave Redistricting to Elected Representatives

"The California Voters First Initiative would take the redistricting process out of the hands of state legislators and put it under the control of an independent committee."

I would much rather have our elected representatives in the state legislature draw districts then leave it to an "independent" committee that is not representative of California.

The proponents of this Initiative know well that taking the process out of the hands of our elected representatives usurps residents of California and our democratic form of government.

I'm disapointed that my retired political science professor and Whittier city councilman Owen Newcomer would back such initiative. By supporting this initiative he is taking the process out of the hands of the people and giving it to an elite group of people not representative of our diverse population of California.

Our representative form of democracy should not be substituted for a committee of political appointments who were not directly elected by the people of California. If a community does like its representative they can vote them out. In the case of a committee of elites, we can not vote them out and there is no mechanism to do so should the people disagree with their decision.

Stick to our elected legislature who we can hold accountable at the local level and not a group of unaccountable elitist.

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