Ending Gerrymandering by Politicians: Pros and Cons of Propositions 118-119

In focusing on a single provision of Prop. 118 in your editorial (“Prop. 118: Chaos in Sacramento,” May 12), you neglected to mention the other four significant ethical reforms that would come about as a result of its passage. Prop. 118 would ban all payoffs disguised as gifts and honorariums from special interests to legislators in a statute that could not be changed without a vote of the people. It would assess stiff penalties on legislators who vote on issues where they have a personal financial interest. It would not allow legislators to work as lobbyists for a year after they leave office. And it would strengthen ethics enforcement by giving the Joint Legislative Ethics Committee a mandate to crack down on ethical violations.

As for the provision which regulates the drawing of legislative district lines, Prop. 118 cannot help but improve on the current system. As it is, the politicians in power devise a plan in secret that guarantees their re-employment at our cost for the next 10 years. Prop. 118 will open up the process to public review and refer any redistricting plan to an automatic popular referendum to insure that the citizens’ interests are placed above the politicians.

GARY J. FLYNN

JERRY LUBENOW

Citizens for Legislative Ethics; Committee

for Prop. 118, San Francisco