Sacramento renovations

Re “Reform attempt flies into stiff wind,” column, March 13

I write as a lifelong Democrat. Sen. Roy Ashburn’s (R-Bakersfield) proposals for reform in Sacramento, as outlined by George Skelton, are sensible and long overdue. If hubris hadn’t driven our legislative leaders to renege on the deal to couple voting district reform with easing term limits, I (and I suspect others) would have voted for that measure.

One addition that I hope Ashburn will consider: Add a clause to end the two-thirds requirement for budget votes. If a simple majority isn’t enough, make it 55%. If he does that, I hope Democrats will stop worrying about who gets the credit and start fighting to be cosponsors. These are structural changes that could put our Legislature back into business.

H.A. Drake

Santa Barbara