(September 25, 2008) California Chamber of Commerce President Allan Zaremberg and other members of the Yes on Proposition 11 campaign called on California voters to support Proposition 11, during a news conference this week.

“Right now we have the politicians selecting their voters,” said Zaremberg. “We need to change that. Proposition 11 will allow the voters to select their elected representatives.” Zaremberg is among the co-chairs for the Yes on Proposition 11 campaign.  

CalChamber President and Chief Executive Officer Allan Zaremberg and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger encourage voters to support Proposition 11 during a September 23 news conference at the State Capitol.

The CalChamber has long believed that fair redistricting is the key to meaningful political reform.

Proposition 11 will allow the citizens of California, rather than the Legislature, to create competitive legislative districts, thereby helping elected officials be more accountable to voters.

Improving California’s Redistricting System

Proposition 11 will create a 14-member independent citizens commission to redraw state legislative district lines based on strict non-partisan rules. Unlike the current process, Proposition 11 will ensure that the redistricting process is open and transparent and will respect existing city and county boundaries and communities. It will exclude individuals with obvious conflicts of interest, including elected officials and their staff, from serving on the commission. The commission will include five Republicans, five Democrats, and four members not associated with either party.

Citizen Redistricting Commission

Beginning January 2010 and every 10 years thereafter, the California State Auditor will initiate an application process open to registered voters in a manner that “promotes a diverse and qualified applicant process.” This could mean advertising in newspapers or in other publications in communities, professions, etc.

From this group of applicants, persons with conflicts of interest will be removed by the Auditor, and a three-person auditor panel will pick 60 finalists — 20 Democrats, 20 Republicans and 20 others. This group is submitted to legislative leadership, which can strike eight from each group of 20. The Auditor will then choose eight commissioners from the groups and the eight commissioners will choose the final six for total of 14.

Potential commission members could include university professors, CPAs, physicians, nurses, engineers, community advocates, teachers and more. There also are provisions in the initiative requiring the commission to represent the state’s significant diversity, including ethnic and regional considerations.

Criteria for Drawing Districts

Proposition 11 is designed to respect communities of interest. Current district boundaries, designed to protect incumbent legislators, include some districts that cut up counties, cities and communities.

Proposition 11 requires that districts comply with the federal Voting Rights Act and ensure that “the geographic integrity of any city, county, neighborhood or community of interest shall be respected.”

In addition, Proposition 11 calls for an open hearing process to permit public participation in the redistricting public review process.

Supporters

Proposition 11 is supported by a bipartisan coalition of consumer, senior, public interest, taxpayer, community and business groups and leaders.

Key proponents of Proposition 11 are California Common Cause, the American Association of Retired Persons and the League of Women Voters of California — all of which worked for two years to draft the initiative. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced his support for the initiative after it was written.

More Information

More information is available at the campaign website at www.yesprop11.org.