The new District 5, which includes all of San Joaquin County, plus Galt and Modesto, has two announced candidates for the 2012 election — Republican Bill Berryhill, of Ceres, and Democrat Cathleen Galgiani, of Livingston.
(The Tracy Press will interview both candidates in an upcoming edition.)
David Gilliard, a consultant hired by a Republican group called Fairness & Accountability in Redistricting, claims that the commission violated its own constitutional requirements by not respecting city and county lines.
For example, Sacramento County’s population would generate approximately one Senate district, but instead, it has six districts within the county, Gilliard said.
Another issue Republicans saw with the new Senate maps is that Latinos were split into multiple districts in Santa Clara and Monterey counties and the San Fernando Valley, Gilliard added.
If the lawsuit is successful, Gilliard said, the California Supreme Court will redraw the lines for the 2012 elections only, and then the redistricting commission will draw new boundaries that will be in effect through 2020.
What a way to try and get votes, paying people to cheat. How far must we go to get people elected.
Why doesn't his secretary write us a check. With her tax write offs, isn't she making more money than he is?
On a political note this morning, it was said that Warren Buffett donated a lot of money to the commission that did the redistricting. It was not clear how much money was given, but as we can see it could change the commission's view of their job.
Let's hope that David Gillard the consultant will bring the issue up before the courts,so that we can have some Fairness & Accountability to the political process.