Guest column: Amendments 5 & 6: Vote yes
Proposed Amendments 5 and 6 to the Florida Constitution will give voters a chance to reclaim some of the powers they have relinquished to politicians. They are based on the principle that voters should pick politicians -- not the other way around.
David Winston, the consultant who drew the districts in Florida's last redistricting, says, "I can have more of an impact on an election than a campaign, a candidate, and voters." By voting "yes" on Amendments 5 and 6, we're demonstrating that we've had enough of partisan political gerrymandering. Gerrymandering means to divide a territory into election districts to give one political party an electoral majority in a large number of districts, while concentrating the voting strength of the opposition in as few districts as possible. The opponents to the establishment of fair districts are primarily whichever political party is in power and many incumbent politicians. Only three incumbents have been defeated in 420 elections for state legislative seats since 2004. By allowing incumbent politicians to establish political districts to virtually assure their re-elections, we are giving them the sense that they are all powerful.
When they know that their re-election is a certainty, they aren't beholden to voters or the wider public interest. Instead, they are primarily influenced by special interests and corporate lobbyists. The constitution requires that after the census count is taken, state legislatures redraw the boundaries of congressional districts. On the national level, some states may lose a seat or two, and other states may gain seats. For example, in 2012 Florida will likely grow from 25 to 26 congressional seats.
The important thing to keep in mind is currently the redistricting process occurs behind closed doors with no public input. Political strategists on both sides know whichever party controls the state House and Senate and the governorship will be able to maximize their party's representation in Congress.
Ed Gillespie, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, says, "If you were to fight these seats out cycle by cycle every two years in competitive congressional races, you would probably have to spend more than $200 million in federal money, which is harder to raise versus the $18 million in non-federal money that we're going to spend to try to win the state seats to draw those districts in this election year."
To his big donors, Gillespie says, "Money spent on state races is the gift that keeps on giving" until another census in 2020. Amendments 5 and 6 do the following: Prohibit apportionment plans from favoring any party or incumbent, allow for equal opportunity for racial or language minorities, require political districts to be contiguous (land must be physically touching), unless otherwise required, districts must be compact, districts must be as equal in population as feasible, and, where feasible, they make use of existing city, county and geographical boundaries.
These amendments will require a 60 percent approval vote in the November election. If passed, these amendments will add guidelines for legislators to follow and transparency to the apportionment process that will allow us to observe our legislators' actions. They will instill political competition giving voters an opportunity to demand more responsible behavior of elected officials. Presently we see incumbents cling to their seats for decades and assume leadership positions through their seniority. The result is a polarized body of politicians that is unable or unwilling to solve our nation's vexing problems.
Meanwhile those with seniority are the leaders in spending taxpayer monies for earmarks directed to their financial supporters. Amendments 5 and 6 won't resolve all the problems associated with a broken political system, but they are a giant step in the right direction.
*
Bill McCormick is the current Democratic state executive committeeman for St. Johns County. He has lived in St. Augustine since 2005. He spent 14 years at the University of Florida as professor and department chair in the College of Pharmacy. He was the founder and chairman of a national management consulting firm and was co-owner of a sporting goods store in Gainesville.
No comments:
Post a Comment