Fixing California's Broken Government

Prospects for the governor's controversial redistricting initiative have grown appropriately dim. Whatever its ultimate fate, Schwarzenegger has done a good and decent thing in using his considerable bully pulpit power to raise awareness about the relatively obscure, but important issue of political gerrymandering. Without his call to arms, the powers that be in Sacramento almost certainly would have continued ignoring the very obvious problems with our process for drawing legislative districts lines. They're paying attention now.

But political gerrymandering is only one small symptom of a far more deadly disease.Why waste all that energy on something that won't cure us? It's certainly clear that something must change. Surveys indicate anywhere from a half to three-quarters of Californians believe state government does only a fair to poor job working for their interests. And only one in three Californians trusts Sacramento to do what is right always or most of the time. Voter participation, particularly in primary elections, has been dropping for nearly half a century. Most importantly, 37 percent of nonvoters believe voting doesn't make a difference in the outcome of elections.

In short, the people of California do not trust their government, do not see themselves in it, do not participate in public life and do not think their voice would count if they did. A better system for legislative redistricting, though important to do, will only minimally impact our more fundamental problem.

If you had a lump in your breast and a sore throat, would you take a zinc lozenge and leave it at that?

The real problem with California politics is not a lack of competition in elections or the weird shape of legislative districts, it is the fact that the people have lost faith in the government.

Solving this problem will not be easy, cheap or simple. But in our democratic republic the people are the last line of defense against tyranny. When we stop participating, the system fails. California government it fast approaching this precipice now.

It's time to take a serious look at reforms that address the disconnect between citizens and their government. In a state of nearly 37 million people, we'll have our work cut out for us. But we have options.

For example, in addition to an independent redistricting process, we could reduce overpopulation in legislative districts. California's legislative districts are the largest in the nation by a very long shot. Our state Senate districts contain more people than live in 30 percent of the world's countries. Our Assembly districts include about the same number of people as live in Wyoming.

And though our population has exploded over the last century and a half, we haven't increased the number of legislators in the state Capitol since 1879. The total population of the state back then would constitute only a single state Senate district now. How can one person possibly represent, connect with or respond to nearly a million people?

Fewer constituents per legislator will increase accountability, reduce corruption by lowering the cost of elections, and turn up the volume of voices that go unheard now.Those are the kinds of conditions we need to encourage if we're to increase trust in government. Whether it's redistricting, fixing overpopulated legislative districts or some other reform, change must come.

No matter what comes of the governor's reform plan, the Costa redistricting initiative, or any one specific proposal, the broader conversation about what ails our beleaguered political process ought to be had. The time when a throat spray could cure us has long since passed. It's time for chemo.