Citizens Assembly: Publications, Events and More

How to Revive Redistricting Reform

Articles — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 08:40:00 -0400

In the movie Groundhog Day, the Bill Murray character, a weatherman who is doomed to repeat the same day over and over, asks a question that haunts redistricting reformers in California: "What would you do if you were stuck in one place and everyday was exactly the same, and nothing that you did mattered?"

With the recent failure of the Legislature to place redistricting reform on the ballot -- for the second year in a row -- reformers are scrambling for a way forward. One way would be to spend millions of dollars to gather signatures on a voter initiative. But… more

`Yes' side to battle for voting reform

Political Reform — Thu, 24 May 2007 16:16:00 -0400

Supporters of a radical new way of electing Ontario politicians will today announce the formation of a Yes campaign for the Oct. 10 referendum.The move comes one day after the Liberal government released regulations for the vote that place no limits on how much any group can spend to promote or oppose the system."We expect that some individuals and groups will want to campaign in favour of one system or the other," Democratic Renewal Minister Marie Bountrogianni said in a statement."It's important that this debate be open and transparent. That's why the government… more

Ontario will vote on MMP

Political Reform — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 16:10:00 -0400

If approved, the new system would be in place during the election expected in 2011, and it would end a way of voting that has existed in Ontario since before Confederation and which generally allows parties to command strong legislative majorities without obtaining the support of at least 50 per cent of the electorate. Cheers and applause rippled through a large meeting room in a government office tower when it was announced that the group of 102 citizens, who had been selected at random by the province and volunteered to study Ontario’s voting procedure,… more

Panel picks radical voting changes for Ontario

Political Reform — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 16:32:00 -0400

The group charged with reviewing Ontario's voting system yesterday endorsed a model of German-style proportional representation as its preferred choice against the current system, a move that could radically alter the way MPPs are elected.

If the Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform recommends the system -- known as mixed member proportional voting (MMP) -- to the government next month, Ontario could be the first jurisdiction in North America to stray from first-past-the-post majority rule.

An assembly recommendation would force a province-wide referendum on the issue on election day in October. Alternatively, the group could opt for the status quo, although… more

Democracy in America: One day, they may get it right

Political Reform — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 19:23:00 -0500

(Published in the Toronto Globe & Mail by Gordon Gibson of British Columbia) A conference in California last weekend gave new hope to U.S. democracy. While most American writings proclaim their democracy as the best, those sentiments are more patriotic than factual. The U.S. Senate, the self-proclaimed "greatest deliberative body in the world," managed to defeat repeated calls from the lower House for slavery's abolition prior to the Civil War and, today, grossly overrepresents small, rural states to the disadvantage of the large, urban ones where the biggest problems lie. more

Deliberative Democracy in California

Communications — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 12:00:00 -0500

A New America Event
02/23/2007 - 12:00pm

The conference, which was co-sponsored by the New America Foundation and CommonSense California, explored the emerging field of deliberative democracy, which uses tools such as citizen dialogues, deliberative polling and citizen's assemblies to engage regular citizens in policy issues. Deliberative democracy methods seek to break through partisan gridlock, overcome special interest domination, and rekindle a sense of civic ownership in the conduct of government.

The conference brought together leading policy makers and opinion leaders, provided a space to meet with experts in this field and to learn more about the various methods.

S.F. Chronicle Cites New America Survey in Support of Citizens Assembly

Communications — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 23:11:00 -0500

New America in the News:

Below the surface of all the big issues facing California -- education, prisons, transportation, immigration, political reform -- lies the disturbing reality that the grassroots of citizen political involvement are drying up. In recent years, alienation between Californians and their government leaders has burned like a wildfire across the state, melting voter turnout and heating up cynicism toward the political establishment in Sacramento...

Until we find a way to rebuild citizen participation, and a sense of trust between Californians and their elected officials, solutions to the state's serious long-term problems will elude us. To that end, I have a modest proposal to begin watering the grassroots of California's democracy: a statewide citizens assembly to review ballot initiatives prior to elections...

A citizens assembly has been used with success in British Columbia to empanel a representative, bipartisan group to deliberate over matters of political reform. There 160 citizens met one weekend a month to develop a method of political reform that was considered too "hot" for politicians to handle. In a recent survey commissioned by the nonpartisan New America Foundation, three-fourths of California voters participating said they would support a similar citizens assembly to deal with the thorny issue of state political redistricting...

For the complete article, please visit the San Francisco Chronicle website.

The way forward for political reform

Political Reform — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 03:27:00 -0500

December 19, 2006 --As Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger renews his call for an independent redistricting commission, a new opinion poll finds that California voters overwhelmingly support improvements in the election process, but there's a catch -- it depends on who is proposing them.

A statewide survey commissioned by the nonpartisan New America Foundation found that 70 percent of voters are more likely to support recommendations made by a panel of average citizens than they are to support the ideas of a government committee or even a panel of independent experts. Only 10 percent said… more

The Way Forward for Political Reform

Articles — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 19:28:00 -0500

As Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger renews his call for an independent redistricting commission, a new opinion poll finds that California voters overwhelmingly support improvements in the election process, but there's a catch -- it depends on who is proposing them.

With such… more

Governor Should Ask Average Citizens, Not Politicians, to Make Elections More Fair

Political Reform — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 21:31:00 -0500

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 12, 2006

Contact: Steven Hill (415-6655044) or David Lesher (916-448-3721)

The poll analysis, survey question and results are available below in PDF format.

SACRAMENTO, CA – As Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger calls for more competition in elections, a survey commissioned by the New America Foundation finds that nearly three-quarters of California voters would like to see the governor and the Legislature create a citizen’s panel to explore ideas for making the state’s election process more fair and competitive.… more

New America Survey Shows Overwhelming Support for Citizens Assembly

Political Reform — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 10:51:00 -0500

New America Survey Shows Overwhelming Support for California Citizens Assembly

Communications — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 04:32:00 -0500

Contact: Steven Hill (415-6655044) or David Lesher (916-448-3721)

The poll analysis, survey questions and results are available for download in PDF format.

The findings… more

Governor Should Ask Average Citizens, Not Politicians, to Make Elections More Fair

Political Reform — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 17:06:00 -0500

A statewide survey commissioned by the New America Foundation showed overwhelming support for the idea of a Citizens Assembly. Read the full press release (excerpt below):

Citizens Assembly

Political Reform — Fri, 30 Jun 2006 12:05:00 -0400

The Problem

A number of promising reforms have been proposed for making the California political system more representative and responsive— from independent redistricting, term limits, and open primaries to more modern electoral systems and public financing of campaigns—but all face the same obstacle: entrenched interests, including elected lawmakers, who benefit from the status quo.

One means of removing partisanship and incumbent protectionism from the political reform process is known as a Citizens Assembly, which convenes a body of average citizens empowered to formally propose electoral reforms that politicians have too strong a conflict of… more

Let Citizens Guide Electoral Reform

Articles — Thu, 09 Feb 2006 03:00:00 -0500

A year ago in January, Gov. Schwarzenegger declared 2005 "The Year of Reform," kicking off a contentious special election that ended with voters rejecting all of his proposed measures.

California's representative democracy is broken, and serious electoral reforms are needed. The best solution is reforming our electoral process to improve our chances of electing leaders who understand our problems and are committed to solving them.

We suggest convening a Citizens Assembly of randomly selected citizens who care about their government and have no connection to the existing political establishment.

We believe that thoughtful, average folks, given the facts about California's political… more

Reconnecting Californians to Their Government (Sacramento)

Communications — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 18:00:00 -0500

A New America Event
01/26/2006 - 12:00pm

This event is co-sponsored with the California Research Bureau.

Voters want change, despite the failure of last November's reform ballot measures. Political analysts have recommended a number of reforms, from redistricting, revised term limits, and open primaries to alternative election systems and the public financing of campaigns. But how do we change a system when powerful interests defend the status quo?

A model solution lies across the border in Canada. Called a Citizens Assembly, its strength lies in restoring power to the people. British Columbia recently delegated the task of basic political reform to its own citizens by creating a panel of 160 voters chosen at random (like a jury pool). The Citizens Assembly members spent several months studying the performance of their democracy and ultimately proposed a change for voters to consider on the ballot. In doing so, British Columbia took stale partisanship out of the political process -- something California badly needs.

This highly successful experience has been turned into bipartisan legislation that was introduced this year into the California State Assembly and is receiving broad attention. The Sacramento Bee columnist Dan Walters recently wrote that Governor Schwarzenegger "should stop negotiating the terms of his surrender to the Legislature and make the [Citizens Assembly] his new crusade." Join the New America Foundation as we discuss the political implications of using Citizens Assemblies here in California.

New America Foundation is sponsoring this event statewide, on January 24th in Los Angeles and January 25th in San Francisco. If you are interested in attending either of these other events, please email Lily Ho at ho@newamerica.net.

For more info about the proposal for a California Citizens Assembly, see this article in the Sacramento Bee.

Reconnecting Californians to Their Government (San Francisco)

Communications — Wed, 25 Jan 2006 22:00:00 -0500

A New America Event
01/25/2006 - 12:00pm

This event is co-sponsored with The Commonwealth Club of California.

A model solution lies across the border in Canada. Called a Citizens' Assembly, its strength lies in restoring power to the people. British Columbia recently delegated the task of basic political reform to its own citizens by creating a panel of 160 voters chosen at random (like a jury pool). The Citizens' Assembly members spent several months studying the performance of their democracy and ultimately proposed a change for voters to consider on the ballot. In doing so, British Columbia took stale partisanship out of the political process -- something California badly needs.

This highly successful experience has been turned into bipartisan legislation that was introduced this year into the California State Assembly and is receiving broad attention. The Sacramento Bee columnist Dan Walters recently wrote that Governor Schwarzenegger "should stop negotiating the terms of his surrender to the Legislature and make the [Citizens' Assembly] his new crusade." Join the New America Foundation as we discuss the political implications of using Citizens Assemblies here in California.

New America Foundation is sponsoring this event statewide, on January 24 in Los Angeles and January 26 in Sacramento. If you are interested in attending either of the other events, please email Lily Ho at ho@newamerica.net.

For more info about the proposal for a California Citizens Assembly, see this article in the Sacramento Bee.

Reconnecting Californians to Their Government (Los Angeles)

Communications — Tue, 24 Jan 2006 22:00:00 -0500

A New America Event
01/24/2006 - 12:00pm

This event is co-sponsored with University of Southern California Bedrosian Center on Governance

New America Foundation is sponsoring this event statewide, on January 25th in San Francisco and January 26th in Sacramento. If you are interested in attending either of these other events, please email Lily Ho at ho@newamerica.net.

For more info about the proposal for a California Citizens Assembly, see this article in the Sacramento Bee.

Solving a Classic Dilemma of Democratic Politics

Articles — Tue, 10 Jan 2006 00:00:00 -0500

This article is adapted from the last chapter of the author's book Speak Softly and Carry a Big Stick: How Local TV Broadcasters Exert Political Power (New York: iUniverse, 2005).

The founders of the United States were deeply concerned about the corrupting influence of power. They understood that, given the chance, elected officials would seek to preserve and enhance their power, even at the expense of democratic institutions. Accordingly, they designed a government based on separation of powers, where "ambition" would "counteract ambition." This entailed an elected president with veto power over legislation, an independent court with the ability to declare legislation… more

Citizens' Assemblies

Articles — Wed, 16 Nov 2005 03:00:00 -0500

Despite voters rejecting Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's attempts to end-run the Legislature, that does not mean voters don't want change. California's political leaders must try to pick up the pieces of what is left of state politics. The challenges are daunting, particularly because both the governor and Legislature have lost so much credibility.

The question is: How do we move forward? One of the solutions may lie across the border in Canada. It's called a Citizens' Assembly, and it was on display last year in the province of British Columbia. The government there turned over to the people the task of… more