How the State Lost Its Swing

Widely admired state Finance Director Tom Campbell says he’s still nostalgic for his old 14th Congressional District. Covering the Silicon Valley and part of the peninsula below San Francisco, it could be won by moderate-to-liberal Republicans such as Paul N. “Pete” McCloskey, Ed Zschau and Campbell. Or it could swing to a moderate-liberal Democrat such as Rep. Anna G. Eshoo of Atherton, first elected in 1992 when Campbell gave up the seat to run unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate.

In the 1990s, many legislative and congressional districts in the heart of California were like that: compact areas containing intact cities and counties. There were many competitive seats, meaning candidates of both parties had a shot at winning. Whoever was elected had the ability to work with members of the opposition party.

Today, that’s all changed, thanks to the gerrymandered districts created by the Legislature in 2001 on the basis of the new census figures. The districts were drawn by the politicians to serve themselves -- to keep them in office -- not to serve the voters. The new 14th is safely, solidly Democratic.

Contorted Creatures

Assembly districts now ramble wildly up and down the southern Sacramento Valley and northern San Joaquin Valley. One is the 10th District of Republican Alan Nakanishi of Lodi. The old district consisted of southern Sacramento County and northern San Joaquin County. Today, the 10th roams and wiggles from just north of Stockton to the Sacramento suburbs. It stretches east into the Mother Lode country of El Dorado County and takes in all of Amador County, to just short of the crest of the Sierra.

The 10th was contorted for one reason: to take it from being a “target” for Democrats in 1996 to a “safe” Republican district in the ratings of the California Target Book, a publication that analyzes and handicaps state election races. So safe that Nakanishi didn’t even have a Democratic challenger in the 2004 election.

Something similar happened in the 17th Assembly District, which used to cover the core of San Joaquin County, including Stockton. The old 17th came as close as any district in the state to the constitutional rule for maintaining the integrity of counties and communities. Today, only a third of its voters remain in San Joaquin County. The rest are scattered over Merced County and part of Stanislaus County. Stockton used to be represented by two Assembly members. Now the city is carved among four, without unified representation.

In 2001, Republicans made a deal with majority Democrats that preserved and solidified what seats they had, rather than risk possibly losing more seats.

As most observers figured out right away, that meant the bulk of seats would be decided in the primary elections, by appealing to the most conservative Republicans or most liberal Democrats. There was no more need to craft messages or policies to draw in moderates.

Good-government groups and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger have joined forces to take the districting power away from the Legislature and governor (who now can approve or veto a districting plan) and give it to an independent commission. The Los Angeles Times strongly supports this effort.

The neat and inclusive district lines of the 1990s give a sense of the benefits. They were drawn by a special master appointed by the state Supreme Court after then-Gov. Pete Wilson rejected the plan of the Democratic-controlled Legislature.

Appearing in support of Schwarzenegger in Washington recently, Common Cause President Chellie Pingree pinpointed the heart of the problem: “We have redistricting systems where elected officials choose the voters they want to represent, instead of the other way around.”

Reclaiming a Middle

Most members mindlessly toe the party line and dare not break with their political brethren. Debate, especially in the Assembly, is sometimes nastily personal as well as pointless. Any vote for a tax or fee increase by a Republican spells losing in the next primary to a Republican who took a blood oath not to vote for anything resembling a tax increase. A similar fate awaits a Democrat who crosses the public employee unions.

In Congress, the California delegation can’t work together for the good of the state because its Republicans largely loathe the Democrats and vice versa.

Redistricting by commission will not guarantee competitive elections everywhere. Think Democratic San Francisco or still heavily Republican Orange County. But we would get back enough of the Tom Campbells, principled people who could still see both sides and work with fellow moderates across the aisle.