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Los Angeles Times
Letter to the Editor
Stop Legislators From
Drawing Districts
By Rob
Noblin
December 15, 2003
"First There Was the Recall, Now We Need the Revamp,"
by Ted Costa (Commentary, Dec. 11), diagnoses accurately a
fundamental problem in California's politics. Incumbents in the
Legislature have made their races noncompetitive by drawing the
lines for the districts in which they run. But Costa's proposed cure
is unlikely to work. Even having retired judges draw district lines
would leave many races uncompetitive in areas where one party or the
other dominated.
Instead, we should make every California
legislative race competitive overnight by adopting a simple and
time-tested method used by most advanced democracies. We should
adopt a system of full representation, wherein legislators run in
large districts — or even statewide — and voters select a number of
winners, not just one. Then the importance of the district line
virtually disappears because every candidate will face others strong
enough to win approval from voters.
Rob Noblin
Los
Alamitos |
