The most critical issue for Democrats in Florida is the impending redistricting that will occur after the 2010 census. The Republicans have a firm hold on the state legislature and it is unlikely that the popular centrist Republican governor Charlie Crist will be defeated at re-election time. If something doesn’t happen, then every gain in congressional and legislative seats will be taken away in the same way that Karen Thurman’s seat was redistricted out from under her after the 2000 census.
But redistricting reform is the wonkiest of subjects. Just the mention of the term makes people’s eyes glaze over. What can we do to make it sexy?
First, let’s be a little more specific about what’s at stake. The congressional seats that have been won by Democrats are Ron Klein, Suzanne Kosmas, and Alan Grayson. (Democrat Tim Mahoney won in 2006 but lost in 2008 because he couldn’t keep his pants zipped). Out of the 25 districts, Democrats now hold only ten, even though the state went for Barack Obama.
Florida is expected to pick up two new seats after the 2010 census (while New York will lose two, meaning the two states will be equal—a rather stark example of demographic shifts). If the Republican legislature is allowed to control redistricting then the 2012 congressional delegation will end up being seven Democrats and twenty Republicans! (That’s not counting senators, which, ironically, might end up both being Democratic). That would be both a travesty and a testament to modern day computer mapping methodology.
How is this accomplished? By packing most of the Democrats into a few districts and spreading the remainder among a bunch of districts with narrow, but relatively safe Republican majorities. Over a decade, demographic shifts and national politics can change the nature of these districts, which is how the three seats mentioned were won by Democrats. But, that can all get corrected by the Republican state legislature if left to their own devices.
As I have written about before, Common Cause is sponsoring two voter initiatives for the 2010 election cycle to add two amendments to the state constitution (one for legislative districts, one for congressional districts) which will set simple guidelines that would govern how redistricting is performed. THIS IS THE ONLY HOPE OF STOPPING ANOTHER DECADE OF REPUBLICAN DOMINANCE IN FLORIDA.
I have also written how mobilizing the Obama network to get these initiatives on the 2010 ballot would be a great first step in taking back democracy here in Florida. But, how do you interest all those Obama network people in redistricting reform?
Certainly the website FairDistrictsFlorida.org is trying to interest us. They provide links that allow you to download petitions in order to get them signed (something I’ve done in the past and talked others into doing). They have a link to the redistricting game published by the Annenburg Foundation with its scarily portentous audio intro. The site gives all the reasons and provides great graphics of some of the more egregiously shaped districts.
(Excerpt from FairDistrictsFlorida.org website)
What else can we do?
My main idea was to enlist some prominent spokesperson to push the cause. My favorite is CFO Alex Sink. If she got behind it then she could probably even talk Gov. Crist to join her in what needs to be billed as a non-partisan good government initiative.
Other than that, I don’t know what to do. Certainly if money is raised for a campaign then fliers could be mailed out to Obama voters asking, "Since Florida voted for Obama in 2008, why does the state have only ten Democratic representatives in congress compared to fifteen Republican?" Or fliers could be sent out to all voters asking "Why is your congressional district shaped like this?" along with a graphic.
That might get some people’s attention. But, it’s going to be an uphill slog unless someone with celebrity status steps up to the plate.
Anyone with other ideas is welcome to contribute. How do we do this?
Cross Posted From FlaPolitics.com