Candidate Hannah-Beth Jackson Endorses State’s Proposition 11

http://www.noozhawk.com/noozhawk/article/082708_hannah_beth_jackson_endorses_states_proposition_11/

By Sandra Sanchez

Former state Assembly member and state Senate candidate Hannah-Beth Jackson on Wednesday endorsed Proposition 11 on the November ballot. Proposition 11 would create a 14-member Independent Citizens Commission to conduct the state’s post-census political reapportionment. 

“Politicians should not be drawing their own districts, it is an obvious and inherent conflict of interest,” Jackson said. “As a member of the state Assembly, I supported efforts, such as those by state Sen. Alan Lowenthal, to reform the state’s redistricting process. But partisan wrangling always strangled comprehensive reform. Proposition 11 is not perfect, but it is much better than accepting another decade of excessive partisanship and legislative gridlock.”

Proposition 11 is supported by a broad bipartisan coalition including Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, former Gov. Gray Davis, the League of Women Voters, Common Cause and the California Chamber of Commerce.

Hannah-Beth Jackson is running in what observers say is the only competitive state Senate district in the state this year. Senate District 19 was drawn in 2001 as part of a back-room “incumbent protection plan” that was specifically designed to give a “safe district” to every incumbent of both parties who sought re-election. Senate District 19 is competitive this year only because of a substantial and unanticipated shift in the makeup of the district’s voter registration. 

“Competitive elections are the lifeblood of democracy,” Jackson said. “The public interest is lost when incumbent politicians cannot lose. We need elected leaders who are responsive and not afraid to test their ideas in the political marketplace. I was elected to the Assembly from a competitive seat and expect to be elected to the Senate from one as well.”

Sandra Sanchez represents state Senate candidate Hannah-Beth Jackson.

http://www.noozhawk.com/noozhawk/article/082708_hannah_beth_jackson_endorses_states_proposition_11/