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Reformers batting .000 in fight with incumbents

By HOWARD TROXLER
Published November 20, 2005

A smart friend teases me:

How come you didn't make a bigger deal of the recent decision of voters in California and Ohio to reject your pet cause, a new way for drawing voting districts?

He is right. It is a big deal. The election on Nov. 8 was a crushing defeat for folks like me who believe our state Legislature should no longer draw its own voting districts, or districts for Congress.

When the voters of our two fellow states were given the chance, they voted to keep map drawing in the hands of elected politicians. This bodes ill for those who seek to hold a similar vote in Florida.

If I were a pouty loser, I would make excuses.

I would say, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger overplayed his hand and tried to ram too much down everybody's throats. I would say that Ohio jumbled up its plan with lots of other stuff. I would whine that the sun got in the voters' eyes. Waaah!

But the fact is, it was a real kick in the pants, a solid victory for supporters of the existing system, and a serious warning to reformers in Florida and elsewhere: Just 'cause YOU think it's a great idea doesn't mean everybody else does.

The argument in favor of the change is simple. Under our current system, politicians draw their own districts. They can rig the maps to their own advantage. No matter which party is in power, both incumbent Republicans and Democrats tend to get districts in which they are safe from a serious challenge.

Zero incumbents in the Florida Legislature were defeated in the last general election in 2004. Zero. No wonder they can jack up phone rates and do all the other crazy things they do. They literally cannot be held to account by the voters.

And yet the arguments against putting our map drawing into the hands of a third party, such as judges (the California idea) or an appointed board (the Florida idea), are strong. Here are the main ones:

We would be putting the heart and soul of our democracy into the hands of an unelected body that could not be held accountable. At least now in theory the voters can still kick out the Legislature if they get mad enough.

The change might weaken the voices of minority voting groups, especially African-Americans and Hispanics, important blocs that are able to use their clout in the current give-and-take political process to make sure they get a fair share of districts.

Who says the system doesn't work? The existing Republican majority in our Legislature and our delegation to Congress rose to power in the 1990s, fair and square - even under the old maps drawn by Democrats. That proves change is possible when the voters truly want it.

Instead of being "nonpartisan," as we backers like to claim, the Florida board would consist mostly of partisan appointees who would be just political - except, again, without accountability.

The reason most districts are solidly Democratic or Republican in the first place is because that is how we live. Our society is increasingly segregated, partywise, with Republican suburbs and and largely urban Democratic enclaves. You can't always draw "natural" districts to force the parties to compete; the map might have to be even more contorted.

Like a defense lawyer who rests his case without calling a single witness, I am tempted to answer these arguments by saying, they are all true. Any system has both advantages and disadvantages. They have to be weighed against the alternative.

The alternative, remember, is our existing Legislature, in which interest groups pour unlimited "soft" money into the political parties. Their lobbyists have virtually a free hand to write laws as they see fit. Few if any incumbents face a realistic threat of losing their seat.

This unaccountable Legislature is why Floridians have resorted to petitions to crack down on rapacious industry, demand smaller class sizes, ban indoor smoking and, yes, by golly, to discourage the nasty business of hog farming in our state.

Zero incumbents defeated! That is the argument for a new way of drawing districts in Florida. But, as you can see, there are drawbacks to both methods. Choose your poison.

[Last modified November 20, 2005, 00:53:07]