Initiatives

Here's a San Jose Mercury News look at the two measures. One thing that distinguishes Prop 98 from 99 is the former's elimination of rent control, which is why it's backed by owners of apartment buildings and trailer parks, including Tribune Company chairman Sam Zell.

This piece in the Contra Costa Times asks whether there's "donor fatigue" as Gov. Schwarzenegger raises money for his redistricting initiative and perhaps, some sort of budget reform ballot measure (or measures) in November. It's a fair question. The problem may not be fatigue but donors' clear-eyed assessment of the political chances of redistricting and budget reform. Redistricting has a perfect record at the ballot over the last 15 years -- it's lost every time -- and budget reform proposals of all stripes (notably Prop. 56 in 2004--backed by Democrats and unions -- and Prop. 76 -- backed by Schwarzenegger and Republicans --  in 2005) have gone down to defeat. What is the point of spending good money on reform proposals that will go down to defeat, no matter their merits?

Get used to it. Most of the country's blockbuster democracy news is coming from the Centennial State. A bit of news from California and elsewhere appears at the bottom of this post.

 COLORADO PEACE: It appears that there's been a cooling on one front of the all-out initiative war in Colorado. The trial lawyers and the sponsor of an initiative to limit contigency fees are putting their swords away. The contigency fee initiative -- and 9 counter initiatives filed by the lawyers -- have been dropped. Hat tip: Point of Law.  according to the Point of Law legal blog.

DENVER ET COMMISSION GETS A HEARING: Its sponsor says there's evidence that aliens -- and he doesn't mean Mexicans, Mr. Tancredo -- are already among us. At the hearing, concern is expressed about the commission's cost -- $75,000 -- and how easy it is to qualify the measure (only 3,900 signatures) and of course, about what late night comics might say. Learn more about the Extra campaign as its new web site.

The Secretary of State has certified an initiative to borrow $980 million for children's hospitals for the November ballot in California. It's the third initiative to be certified as having enough signatures to make the ballot. But it won't be the last. Signature verification has begun on other measures, including an anti-gang initiative, a redistricting initiative and an anti-gay marriage initiative.

Raising taxes is almost always difficult politically. When it comes to tax-hiking ballot measures, the trick is to find a politically popular cause to fund. Sam Page, a candidate for lieutenant governor in Missouri, may have come up with the best possible tax ballot measure so far. He proposes a ballot mesaure to raise sales taxes by one-eighth of a cent to fund "veterans' homes, services and programs." Just try to be the poor soul organizing a no campaign against that. It's too late to qualify measures for November, so the legislature would have to put it on the ballot. Look for politicians in other states to copy this.

STRIKE TWO: Arkansas's attorney general, for the second time, has rejected the language of a ballot initiative filed to deny public benefits to unauthorized immigrants. The a.g. has said the language is ambiguous and that initiative sponsors need to hire an attorney; he suggested that he could substitute language himself, but after being criticized for his first rejection of the measure, he decided not to.

THESE COPS ARE MAD: Police officers in Monrovia, Calif are locked in a contract fight, and they've decided to use the ballot initiative process to help. They're circulating petitions on two local initiatives: one that would mandate they are paid at least the average salary of other local police departments, and another to prevent other city officials from making more than their counterparts in nearby municipalities. Also, they have posted billboards around town that read: "You're Approaching Monrovia. Higher Violent Crime. Fewer Officers Patrolling. Thank the City Manager and City Council." 

With a per signature price increase to $2.25 and other measures already qualifying, the redistricting initiative, backed by Gov. Schwarzenegger, had a very good week on the streets of California. So good that signature gatherers were told over the weekend to do a "final turn in" of their signatures by tonight. This also suggests there was a ton of hoarding going on two weeks ago--that is, gatherers were holding back signatures in hopes that the price would go up. Rick Claussen, consultant to the effort, says this morning that the sponsors expect to have more than 1.1 million signatures by the end of this week--more than a week earlier than the previous plan. In fact, with redistricting off the street, there is little paying work left in California at the moment. Many of the top gatherers and coordinators are leaving to work on initiatives in other states.

NO REVOCATION IN FLORIDA: A Florida appeals court ruled that voters cannot revoke their signatures on ballot initiative petitions. The court struck down as unconstitutional a 2007 on signature revocation, saying that such revocation was not part of the state constitution and could "serve to burden" the initiative process. The context: Florida, more than any other state, has taken measures to restrict direct democracy and signature gathering--this ruling could undermine part of that move.

Just got my hands on a new book with an interesting new argument that has relevance for California's ongoing battle over redistricting reform.

In The Big Sort, Bill Bishop, a reporter in Texas, argues that Americans have sorted themselves into homogeneous communities, enclaves full of people with similar backgrounds, education and politics. If he's right, and he has a mountain of demographic evidence, redistricting reforms of the type offered in Gov. Schwarzenegger's current ballot initiative are likely to do very little to give us the kind of bipartisan politics and competitive elections California reformers seek.

It may be that, once again, it's time for California and reformers across the country to think bigger if they want political change. And it may simply be impossible to change politics by changing legislative districts. The real trick is to increase the quantity and quality of voter engagement, and to change the culture and make-up of communities. For its civic health, America needs more than redistricting, though that's the reform we're being fed over and over in the largest state. Tackling polarization is a big job, and hard to do by ballot initiative -- or to contemplate in a short blog post.

Now comes news that a second initiative on development in Bayview-Hunters Point has qualified for the city of San Francisco’s June ballot. Check out this story in the Chronicle.

Why should people outside San Francisco care? Because in California and around the country, local ballot measures have become a common instrument of business-on-business warfare. Lennar Corp, a national development company based in Florida, first qualified an initiative that would put in place its Hunters Point development plan, which would include a combination of retail, industrial and residential development along with a new 49ers Stadium. In response, a San Francisco supervisor -- with backing from other developers -- has qualified this second initiative, which would impose a mandate that half of the new homes in the Hunters Point area be sold or rented at below-market rates.

Such battles have come to dominate municipal ballots in California. Look at ballots this June. Wal-Mart takes on local business in Long Beach. A hardware store owner is battling Home Depot in Thousand Oaks. In Anaheim a fight between a developer and Disney produced two ballot measures, though those were recently removed after the developer, facing legal problems and an onslaught from the Mouse, surrendered.