The Interocitor

California Gerrymanders (UPDATED)

To understand why the California Democrat Party is so upset about the Costa-Schwarzenegger Redistricting Inititiative, one only has to look at a few current examples of how the powers-that-be prevent you, the voter, from mattering to them. You might also want to check out my previous posts on the subject here, here and here.

The first example is a former swing district along the central California coast. Until 2002, this was the old 22nd district, entirely in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties and mostly in the the latter. Lois Capps won this in 1998 and 2000 with 55% and 53% of the vote, respectively. Her late husband had wrested the seat from the incumbant Republican in 1996.

After the 2000 census, California gained a House seat and the newly renumbered 23rd district was drawn to give Lois Capps an easier time of it. She was re-elected in 2002 by a 20% margin. The following image, from the Costa campaign, may explain why:

Another example:

In 1994, Jane Harman beat Susan Brooks in the 36th Congressional district by 800 votes. The result was so close that until a recount in January, both women claimed the seat. In 1998, Harman tried to run for Governor and the open seat was taken by a Republican in a close race. Harman recaptured the seat in 2000, beating the moderate Republican incumbant by a few percent. Then came the 2002 remap, and lo and behold, Jane Harman wins re-election 61-35%. How does a district that's been 50-50 for a decade suddenly have such a change of heart? One need only look at the adjacent 35th District to see what happened.

Throughout the 1990's, Maxine Waters won each election with 88% or so of the vote in her South-Central 35th Congressional District. All of a sudden, in 2002, her vote totals drop to 77%. Those other 10%? They used to be Republican neighborhoods in Jane Harman's district. Now they are Republican neighborhoods in Maxine Waters' district. For all intents and purposes, their votes have been erased, allowing Jane Harman to coast to victory, and bothering Maxine not one little bit.

In 2002 and 2004, no California Congressional seat changed party hands and no incumbant lost in the general election. Only 3 seats out of 53 had margins of less than 20%, and only one was less than 10%. Contrast this with 1998 when 4 Congressional seats changed hands.

Those 1990's districts were drawn by the State Supreme Court when the Legislature and Governor couldn't agree. In 2002, the Legislature and Governor Davis saw eye to eye -- fix it up for the Democrats.

It's about time that Californians chose their Representatives, rather than the Representatives choosing their Californians. Get redistricting out of the hands of the politicians being redistricted and put it in the hands of retired judges who have no axe to grind. I will walk barefoot through snow to vote for Prop 77.

UPDATE: Here are some more maps for those who claim that the new districts are "natural."

LOIS CAPP'S DISTRICT BEFORE GERRYMANDER (1998) 42%D - 42%R

JANE HARMAN'S DISTRICT BEFORE GERRYMANDER (1998) 42%D - 42%R

JANE HARMAN'S DISTRICT AFTER GERRYMANDER (2000) 44%D - 32%R

Note how Palos Verdes and Westchester have been chopped out of Jane's district, even though they belong geographically and socially, due to their excess Republicanism.

Is this an egregious example of a gerrymander? No. It's just very typical, which is worse.

SOURCE: UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies