California GOP: Redistricting Process Lists to Left

A 14-member independent commission that Republicans pushed to strip the Democratic-controlled California Legislature of the power to redraw political districts may be turning left, some GOP leaders contend. GOP state Chairman Tom Del Beccaro set off the alarm last week when the commission hired Q2 Data and Research to help draw 177 congressional, legislative and Board of Equalization districts, The Sacramento Bee reported.

Tom Del Beccaro

"We haven't seen the final results, but they certainly have opened the door to wide-ranging suspicion, and that defeats the purpose of the process," Del Beccaro told the paper. The commission, which the GOP pushed in a 2008 ballot initiative, is made up of ordinary citizens who need the expertise of a consulting firm to draw the lines.

A prime complaint about Q2 is that minority partner Bruce Cain has been an adviser to Assembly Democrats in previous redistricting. Democratic strategist Steve Maviglio dismisses the complaints, saying, "They somehow thought when they backed Proposition 11 that that meant they were going to have an advantage. It hasn't resulted in that — so now they have sour grapes,” the Bee quoted him as saying.

Republicans contend that Q2 had an unfair advantage in the contract process. Tony Quinn, a board member for another bidder and a former Republican legislative staffer, said the “process has not been fair and impartial," according to the Bee.