BY CYNTHIA DAI AND JODIE P. FILKINS SPECIAL TO THE SACRAMENTO BEE In November 2008, Californians took a bold step to eliminate partisan gerrymandering and foster a stronger democracy by establishing an independent citizens commission. The Voters First Act stripped the power of redistricting away from self-interested politicians, putting citizens free from conflicts of interest […]

The California Legislature passed a state budget on Monday, but it was just a self-serving charade because there are still issues to be settled. The Legislature’s Democratic supermajority put on something of a show Monday as they pretended to pass a new state budget. There were floor speeches, formal roll call votes and a deluge […]

A former member of the voter-approved commission that draws maps for California’s legislative and congressional districts said the panel should operate more in the open as it crafts the new boundaries. “On the 2010 redistricting commission, we prided ourselves on the fact that we were very transparent,” says Jodie Filkins Webber. “At the time, it […]

By THE TIMES EDITORIAL BOARD California’s Citizens Redistricting Commission has one task, and one only: to take census data gathered every decade and draw new boundaries for state, legislative and congressional districts through a public and transparent process that’s free from political manipulation. Simple, right? But have the 14 commissioners doing the latest round of […]

By Daniel Gligich Is the California Redistricting Commission – the independent organization tasked with drawing the new Congressional and legislative boundaries – breaking the law? Charles Munger Jr. – the son of Berkshire Hathaway vice chairman Charles Munger, physicist, and a political activist in his own right – certainly thinks so. Munger Jr. wrote a […]