San Diego Queers Split Over City Redistricting (tags)
San Diego?s Queer community has split over their response to the redrawing of district lines for the City Council. On one side are the members of the self-styled ?LGBT Redistricting Task Force,? who are pushing a major redesign of the city?s Queer-influenced District 3, pushing out the people of color and less affluent Queers in City Heights and adding more upscale neighborhoods like Mission Hills and Bankers? Hill to the Hillcrest/North Park core of the district. On the other side are Queer residents of the City Heights community of Azalea Park, who bought there because gentrification had priced them out of Hillcrest and North Park and now find themselves threatened that they will no longer be represented by a Queer Councilmember. The current District 3 is San Diego?s most ethnically diverse; the district proposed by the LGBT Redistricting Task Force and the Hillcrest Town Council will be 70 percent white.
Assemblymember Atkins Warns Queer Democrats on State Budget Cuts (tags)
California State Assemblymember Toni Atkins spoke to the predominantly Queer San Diego Democratic Club February 24 and warned of two approaching deadlines coming up in the state legislature's budget deliberations: March 6, the ending of the special budget session called by former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger; and March 10, the last day the legislature can vote to call a special election to extend the current state sales tax rates and vehicle licensing fees so that current Governor Jerry Brown's budget, which calls for $12.5 billion in spending cuts, can be enacted. Without that — and so far the Republican minority in the legislature has held firm to block any vote on the tax issue, which requires support from 2/3 of both houses of the legislature even to make it to the ballot — Brown and the Democratic majority will have to make $12.5 billion more in spending cuts, which will virtually end California state spending on health and welfare and eviscerate the state's already underfunded education system.
Redistricting, Open Primaries and the Challenges for Democrats (tags)
At the January 27 meeting of the predominantly Queer San Diego Democratic Club, Jess Durfee, chair of the San Diego County Democratic Party and former president of the club, explained the challenges the party faces as the citizens’ redistricting commission begins work on redrawing legislative lines for the 2012 election and beyond. He also talked about California’s new open primary law, which also goes into effect in 2012 and allows members of any political party, or of no party at all, to vote in primary races, with the two top finishers from the primary running against each other in the general election even if they’re from the same political party. California’s Democratic leadership opposed both these changes, but Durfee’s presentation focused on making them work and protecting the party’s interests in this new electoral environment.
Queer Democrats Back State Party on Redistricting (tags)
Choosing the interests of party over voters, the predominantly Queer San Diego Democratic Club overwhelmingly voted at their July 22 meeting to support the state Democratic Party's attempt to destroy the legislative redistricting commission before it even has a chance to meet, and return to the old, corrupt system under which legislators get to draw their own district lines, thereby preserving incumbents and eliminating any real competition for legislative seats.
Who's shaping California's political landscape for the next 10 years? (tags)
California's new Citizens Redistricting Commission. Never heard of it? You're not alone.
POCs, Women, Apply for Redistricting Commission before FEB 15 (tags)
I know the anarchists here think this is all a big-ass joke, but, could some progressives, social democrats, socialists, and greens apply? We need more women and people of color going for it - new people, wise people. The left and right third parties are lagging on getting women involved.
The DeLay Transformation (tags)
author: Jamie Malanowski / Washington Monthly Sep 29, 2005 09:12
Should the Supreme Court Clean Up Its Own Mess? (tags)
The justices have destroyed all the rules, customs, and traditions that used to restrain gerrymanders. The results: a few more liberal black and Hispanic members; a lot more conservative Republicans; and a lot fewer moderate Democrats.
A Cure for Redistricting Woes (tags)
Besides fixing the fight over who can gerrymander, proportional representation has been shown to increase voter turnout, which is at an all-time low in Texas.
Radical right imposes austerity on Texas (tags)
AUSTIN, Texas – After three years in power, the Bush administration’s vision is coming more sharply into focus
Texas Democrats defy GOP power grab (tags)
ARDMORE, Okla. – The power grab by President George W. Bush, his advisor Karl Rove, and U.S. Majority Leader Tom DeLay to redraw Texas congressional districts in order to send up to seven new right-wing extremists to the U.S. House of Representatives suffered a serious setback when 53 Democratic lawmakers on May 12 boycotted the Texas House of Representatives.
San Diego Redistricting Process Limps to a Close (text) (tags)
San Diego's Redistricting Commission finally approved a map for new City Council districts August 22 — but only because Commission chair Ralph Pesqueira reluctantly broke a deadlock and cast a deciding fifth vote for a plan that puts the Sea World amusement park in environmentalist Councilmember Donna Frye's district.
San Diego Redistricting Process Limps to a Close (tags)
San Diego's Redistricting Commission, charged with drawing City Council district lines for the 2002 and 2004 elections, nearly deadlocked over where to put the Sea World amusement park. Eventually the Commission chair supplied the necessary fifth vote for a plan that put Sea World in District 6, represented by environmentalist Councilmember Donna Frye (pictured).
Fate of Mission Bay Derails San Diego Redistricting Plan (tags)
The San Diego Redistricting Commission, charged with drawing new boundaries for San Diego's City Council districts, hit an unexpected snag in a dispute over which district should include Mission Bay: District 2, now represented by developer-friendly Republican Byron Wear; or District 6, now represented by environmental activist and progressive Democrat Donna Frye.
Voting Rights Consultant Can't Solve San Diego Redistricting (tags)
San Diego's Redistricting Commission hoped a report from voting rights consultant Bruce Cain would give them a definitive answer on whether the federal Voting Rights Act required them to put all of the City Heights neighborhood, many of whose residents are people of color, in a single City Council district even if this means breaking up the concentration of Queer voters in the current District 3. But Cain's report was inconclusive.