I’m not the only one skeptical of outgoing Speaker Núñez’s reform credentials. A Mercury News editorial today warned lawmakers, and the state at large: "Don’t fall for Núñez’s scheme on redistricting." Here’s an excerpt:
In his last news conference as Assembly speaker, Fabian Núñez was true
to form: He feigned favoring political reform while plotting against it.
Núñez announced this
week that he would press the Legislature to place a plan for
redistricting reform and extended term limits on the November ballot.
His press conference coincided with the announcement that a
non-partisan coalition had gathered enough signatures to put its own
initiative before voters.Núñez’s maneuver can mean one of two things: Either he wants to kill
redistricting by confusing voters with two similar measures on the same
ballot, or he wants to stir up enough undeserved doubt about the
California Voters First Initiative to turn Democrats against it.
It’s hard not to suspect promises of reform that only crop up when a serious run is made at circumventing the legislature at the ballot box.
