http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-16/california-s-citizen-map-could-lead-u-s-out-of-gridlock-view.htmlRepublicans are angry. Democrats are running for cover. And the executive director of a group that represents Latino officials of both parties has called it a “worst-case scenario.” It seems the California Citizens Redistricting Commission has hit a nerve.
The commission is the product of two state ballot initiatives that took redistricting power away from state legislators and vested it in 14 unelected Democrats, Republicans and independents. Last week, the group released its draft map of California’s new state and congressional legislative districts, daring to produce cohesive geographic lines and “communities of interest” in lieu of meandering boundaries and safe seats for incumbents.
Most analysts say Republicans would lose at least two congressional seats if the new map withstands political and legal challenges. Meanwhile, veteran Democratic lawmakers would be pitted against one another in a handful of newly drawn districts that take no account of their seniority.
Democratic Representative Howard Berman and Republican Representative David Dreier, who have 58 years in Congress between them, are suddenly in jeopardy. Berman’s once-safe suburban Los Angeles district would be fused with that of another liberal Democrat, Brad Sherman. Dreier’s Orange County district would become more Latino, making the conservative’s re- election a suddenly shaky proposition.
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