But, I think we may have jumped from the frying pan into the fire.

No Longer (I wish you had a catchier handle): I read all your comments with interest and find them very informative, even though I usually disagree with you philosophically. I can tell you’ve been working in local politics for a long time, at least it sounds that way. I would like a little time to thoughtfully respond to your comment #3.

Instead of the “Voters FIRST Act”, it should have been titled “READ first,then Vote!” act.

Oh my God, what have we done?!

So, here is the answer to your question: There are 80 Assembly seats and 40 Senate seats. There are hundreds of cities, school districts, water districts, vector control districts, et cetera et cetera. There are cities with vastly disparate and distinct neighborhoods. All of these have different interests, different issues, different demographic makeups and different economies. The courts require all of these to be balanced but permit politically motivated districting. How a handful of TRULY independent citizens will come up to speed on all the disparate interests throughout the state is beyond me. And in simple terms, they won’t be able to. They will have to do something else, and I bet it starts with bureaucrats and dry erase boards.

Interestingly the federal courts have time and again indicated that POLITICAL gerrymandering (what you appear to disdain) is a defense to many of the contiguity/similarity of interest challenges that occur. However, I suggest that only legislators can use political gerrymandering as a defense. This “independent” citizens’ commission (again, I question whether they truly will be independent) won’t be able to use that defense (since by definition, they aren’t elected to anything). The door will be open for all sorts of challenges to the redistricting on a variety of bases, including racial discrimination. And these challenges will come. At huge cost.

I guess in the end, I’d rather have legislators who are supposed to be political making the redistricting decision (which is political) rather than a bunch of unqualified citizens who will either likley be unable to comprehend the many layers of interests at issue or will be controled by state workers with their own ideas of democracy.

No Longer FTP, how many hours/days of training do you think members of the Citizens Redistricting Commission will require to get up to speed on all the relevant issues? Or are they just doomed to be gullible morons, because they haven’t spent as much of their lives in the political game as you have? I think I’ll sign up now.

Given the application and interview process I wonder how much of an “outsider” these appointees will, in fact, be. And I wonder what sort of political bent this group will have. I also wonder whether the bureaucrats will be driving this bus and having the commission rubber stamp a staff porposal. If that occurs, I’d rather have the hooligan legislators drawing their own maps.