Latest news with #independentcommission
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Poll: California voters back independent congressional maps, complicating Gavin Newsom's redistricting push
LOS ANGELES — California Gov. Gavin Newsom faces a major hurdle in his quest to revamp his state's congressional lines, according to a new poll: Californians' deep support for its current independent redistricting commission. By nearly a two-to-one margin, voters prefer keeping an independent line-drawing panel to determine the state's House seats, the latest POLITICO-Citrin Center-Possibility Lab survey found. Just 36 percent of respondents back returning congressional redistricting authority to state lawmakers. 'It's not surprising, in the sense that California has voted twice for this independent review commission not all that long ago,' said Jack Citrin, a veteran political science professor at UC Berkeley and partner on the poll. 'And there's a lot of mistrust and cynicism about politicians and the Legislature. That's reflected here as well.' California Democrats are plowing ahead with a high-stakes gambit to redraw the state's lines to counter a proposed gerrymander by Texas Republicans spurred by President Donald Trump. California officials are expected to unveil newly redrawn maps at the end of this week that would position Democrats to nab five extra seats, neutralizing the Texas redraw. Newsom, who kicks off the campaign in earnest on Thursday, has cast himself as both reluctant and eager to engage in an escalating redistricting war. He and fellow Democrats have repeatedly emphasized how Texas Republicans started this fight and vowed that any measure to overhaul the districts in California would only be 'triggered' if Texas moves ahead. (Texas Democrats have fled the state to stall the vote on the GOP-friendly maps, although Gov. Greg Abbott said he will continue to call for new special legislative sessions until the Democrats return.) California Democrats have also promised not to do away with the state's independent redistricting commission entirely. Instead, they plan to ask voters to approve a constitutional amendment that would put new maps approved by the Legislature in effect for the 2026, 2028 and 2030 election cycles, according to legislative sources familiar with the draft measure. The independent panel would then resume its role as the state's line-drawer after the 2030 census. The POLITICO-Citrin Center-Possibility Lab survey findings underscore why Democrats are stopping short of jettisoning the commission. The poll shows independent redistricting enjoys widespread popularity among the general public, with 64 percent support overall, and across party affiliations. Independent voters were the most enthusiastic backers of the panel, with 72 percent in favor of the commission keeping its line-drawing authority. Support among Republicans and Democrats was roughly equal — 66 percent and 61 percent, respectively — marking a rare spot of bipartisan agreement in this hyper-polarized political moment. 'That surprised me a little bit, given that this is being pushed so heavily by Newsom and by the Democratic Party nationally that we have to combat Texas,' Citrin said. Older respondents were more likely to favor the independent commission, with 77 percent of people aged 80 and older in favor of keeping the status quo. Still, a healthy majority of younger voters, including 62 percent of Gen Z and millennials, supported the commission as well. The independent commission's popularity has grown over time. Californians narrowly approved the creation of an independent panel in 2008, taking the power to draw the boundaries of legislative districts away from lawmakers and giving it to a citizen commission. Two years later, voters had further warmed to independent redistricting, with 61 percent supporting a measure to give the panel authority over congressional lines as well. A measure to repeal the commission was also handily defeated that year. To overcome the popularity of good governance election reforms, Democrats this year are betting on a campaign that will frame the new maps as striking a blow against Trump, who lost the state by 20 points last year. 'I think the voters will approve it. I think the voters understand what's at stake,' Newsom said in a news conference last Friday. 'We live in the most un-Trump state in America.' Last week, legislators were briefed on an internal survey by Newsom's pollster, David Binder, which found a redistricting measure with multiple elements — including designating the new maps as temporary and only valid if Texas proceeds — started with slim majority support (52 percent). It grew in popularity when the messaging became more overtly partisan. Democrats have already signaled that strategy, trotting out talking points about 'fighting fire with fire' and 'rejecting Trump's power grab.' Still, the public wariness of lawmaker-drawn maps captured in the POLITICO-Citrin Center-Possibility Lab poll suggests an uphill climb for Newsom and Democrats. 'If this is the starting point, then they will have a struggle,' Citrin said. The survey also looked at the opinion of policy influencers, a group of roughly 500 POLITICO Pro subscribers who are deeply versed in the state's political landscape. Their views are largely in line with the general electorate: 61 percent support the independent commission while 39 percent back lines being drawn by lawmakers. Among influencers, the partisan divide is more stark. Republican insiders, who are likely keenly aware that multiple GOP-held seats are at risk, overwhelmingly support the commission, with 91 percent. The panel also enjoys strong support among 79 percent of independents. Democratic insiders are the sole group to back legislators holding the redistricting pen — and just barely; 51 percent support returning the redrawing powers to lawmakers, while 49 percent want to keep the commission. This project consists of two separate opinion studies of the California electorate and policy influencers in the state, fielded by TrueDot, the artificial intelligence-accelerated research platform, in collaboration with the Citrin Center and Possibility Lab at UC Berkeley and POLITICO. The public opinion study, made possible in part with support from the California Constitution Center, was conducted in the field between July 28 and Aug. 12. The sample of 1,445 registered voters was selected at random by Verasight, with interviews conducted in English and Spanish, and includes an oversample of Hispanic voters. The modeled error estimate for the full sample is plus/minus 2.6 percent. The policy influencer study was conducted from July 30 to Aug. 11, among 512 subscribers to POLITICO Pro, and the modeled error estimate is plus/minus 3.7 percent.
New York Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- New York Times
Newsom's Gerrymander of California Has a Formidable Foe: Schwarzenegger
A day after Gov. Gavin Newsom held a splashy campaign rally to debut his ballot measure to redraw California's congressional map, Arnold Schwarzenegger walked into a Santa Monica hotel for breakfast on Friday. He was wearing a new custom-made T-shirt. It was emblazoned with an image of a raised fist, an expletive aimed at politicians and the phrase, 'Terminate Gerrymandering.' As governor of California from 2003 to 2011, Mr. Schwarzenegger led the charge to do just that. He fought to overhaul how the state draws political maps, ultimately winning when voters passed a pair of ballot measures that took that power away from politicians and gave it to an independent commission. Now, Mr. Newsom is asking voters to set the independent commission's work aside for the next three elections in favor of a map drawn to help elect more Democrats. He's pitching it as a temporary pause on California's bipartisan system that's necessary to counter a Republican gerrymander President Trump is seeking in Texas. And Mr. Schwarzenegger, a moderate Republican, finds himself fighting to preserve a key plank of his legacy as governor, a reform that has allowed what he calls his post-partisan style of politics to endure in California even as a brawling hyperpartisanship has become the national norm. 'I hate the idea of the Republicans redrawing the district lines in Texas, as much as I hate what the Californians are trying to do,' Mr. Schwarzenegger said in an interview at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel and Bungalows. 'But I'm thinking now about California, and about the people of California. I promised them that we are going to create a commission that would be independent of the politicians, and there will be an independent citizens commission drawing the lines. So I'm not going to go back on my promise. I'm going to fight for my promise.' Exactly how Mr. Schwarzenegger plans to wage this battle is still taking shape. It started with him asking an aide to design the T-shirt, which he wore to the gym Friday morning and then donned as he rode his electric bike to breakfast. As Mr. Schwarzenegger sat down in a private dining room filled with potted plants, a waiter brought him a dish of walnuts and raisins, and poured him a glass of watermelon juice. Mr. Schwarzenegger is adamant that he won't align himself with the Republican Party as he campaigns against Mr. Newsom's ballot measure. He's no fan of Mr. Trump or the way the G.O.P. has evolved under the president's leadership. And he says he has a good relationship with Mr. Newsom, whom he said he has hosted at his home for meetings. But Mr. Schwarzenegger said he planned to defend the system he helped create, even if it means an outcome that could help Mr. Trump and hurt Mr. Newsom. 'It's nothing personal,' said Mr. Schwarzenegger, who had moved on from walnuts and raisins to a plate loaded with a ham-and-vegetable omelet, a green salad and sourdough toast. Mr. Newsom, Mr. Schwarzenegger added, is doing what he has to do to help the Democratic Party. 'He was kind enough to let me know what he's up to and how he feels,' Mr. Schwarzenegger said. 'I told him: 'I totally get it. I understand it.' I said, 'There's no effect on our relationship.'' Asked for comment, Mr. Newsom responded with a statement saying that he agrees on the need for independent redistricting across the nation but that 'this moment of crisis' demands California temporarily shift gears. 'Trump and his Texas cronies are trying to rig the 2026 election before a single person has voted,' read the statement from Mr. Newsom's campaign adviser, Courtni Pugh. 'This is a five alarm fire for our democracy. By voting yes in November, Californians have a chance' to put 'a real check on his power.' Mr. Schwarzenegger's passion for the arcane issue of redistricting stems from his early experience as governor. When he first came into office after a career in acting and bodybuilding, Mr. Schwarzenegger said he wasn't aware that drawing district boundaries was a standard part of what lawmakers do. But he quickly began to see how the makeup of a district shapes the decisions legislators make, and felt it hampered his ability to advance meaningful policies for California. Mr. Schwarzenegger recalled talking to Democratic lawmakers about changing public education to empower parents at low-performing schools, and talking to Republican lawmakers about the need for more clean energy to curb climate change. In both cases, he said, the lawmakers said they agreed with his ideas but wouldn't vote for them because it would anger the voters in their districts. He went back to his staff and said: 'I don't get that. They are for something, but they don't vote for it?' Mr. Schwarzenegger said his aides explained that the districts were drawn to include overwhelming shares of liberal or conservative voters, so that lawmakers would be assured re-election. 'I have seen it first-hand, how it's the evil of politics,' Mr. Schwarzenegger said of gerrymandering. 'It's very clearly an attack on the people's choice. It is gaining more power for the politicians.' He championed a ballot measure in 2005 that sought to put redistricting in the hands of a panel of judges, arguing at the time that the lack of competition between the parties for California's legislative and congressional seats showed the need for a shake-up. The Democratic Party campaigned against the measure, and voters rejected it. Three years later, he backed another measure that established California's independent redistricting commission. And in 2010, he supported a measure that expanded the commission's power to include drawing congressional districts. Since those measures passed, some regions in California have become fiercely competitive, and it's no longer uncommon for House seats to flip back and forth between the parties. After leaving office, Mr. Schwarzenegger campaigned in other states, including Michigan and Ohio, in an effort to export California's model. He held news conferences at the Supreme Court when it considered cases about gerrymandering. But he has largely been a background figure in California politics, mostly working on fitness and acting, weighing in selectively on social media and even, once, fixing potholes in high-profile fashion after a series of winter storms. He described opposing gerrymandering as a wonderful fight. He said he didn't buy the argument that California should do it because other states are. 'We are not going to go into a stinking contest with a skunk,' he said. 'We are moving forward.'
Times
03-06-2025
- Business
- Times
Resetting our water industry can be done with the right approach
A s a young civil servant, I was once sharply corrected for referring to a difficult policy problem as a 'puzzle'. A puzzle, I was told in no uncertain terms, is 'solved' with one completely correct answer. Policy problems, on the other hand, can rarely be solved by single correct answers. Addressing them requires a range of responses, all of which have costs as well as benefits. I have been reminded of this wise advice repeatedly since I took on the task of leading the independent commission reviewing the troubled water sector in England and Wales seven months ago. What has become increasingly clear as we have listened to the views — and heard the anger — on all sides of the debate is that there is no simple, single change, no matter how radical, that will deliver the safe, plentiful water and clean water environment that we need now and in the future.
Associated Press
20-05-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Relegated Leicester referred to independent commission for financial breaches
LEICESTER, England (AP) — Leicester might be returning to life in the Championship with a points deduction. The club was referred by the Premier League to an independent commission on Tuesday for alleged breaches of financial rules in the English Football League — the three divisions below the top flight — in the 2023-24 season. Leicester also has been accused by the Premier League of alleged breaches of its obligation to provide its annual accounts by Dec. 31 last year and to 'provide full, complete and prompt assistance to the Premier League in response to the league's inquiries.' The Premier League has acted after an arbitration tribunal decided that the top-flight competition has jurisdiction to investigate and refer the club to an independent commission for its breaches of rules in a different competition — the EFL. The Premier League previously charged Leicester for breaching financial regulations by overspending in the 2022-23 season, but the club successfully argued it was no longer a representative of the Premier League — owing to its relegation that season — by the end of that year's accounting period on June 30. Because of this latest tribunal decision, the Premier League is trying again to punish Leicester for overspending, this time in the 2023-24 season — the year after relegation and when the team was in the Championship. 'The tribunal confirmed that the Premier League has the power to investigate an alleged breach of the Profit & Sustainability Rules because the EFL validly transferred responsibility for its investigation to the Premier League in June 2024, when the club was promoted from the Championship,' the Premier League said. 'The Premier League continues to have jurisdiction even though Leicester City will be relegated to the Championship at the end of this season.' Leicester's return to the Championship was confirmed on April 20 with a loss to Liverpool. 'The club intends to engage cooperatively in this matter now that the Premier League's jurisdiction has been established for the period ending FY24,' Leicester said. 'However, we will not be able to comment further on these proceedings until they are concluded, due to their confidential nature.' ___ AP soccer:
BBC News
20-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Leicester referred over alleged EFL financial breach
Leicester City have been referred to an independent commission by the Premier League for an alleged breach of EFL financial rules while they were in the Championship in the 2023-24 season.A tribunal also upheld a decision that the Premier League could not punish the Foxes for breaching Premier League profit and sustainability rules for the 2022-23 season as the club had been relegated from the top flight at the end of that the same tribunal decided that the Premier League does have jurisdiction to investigate the club for breaching EFL rules in independent commission will also assess two further alleged breaches by the Foxes; that they failed to provide accounts to the Premier League by 31 December, 2024, and that they did not "provide full, complete and prompt assistance to the Premier League in response to the league's inquiries".Leicester, who this season have been relegated to the Championship for the second time in three years, said: "The club intends to engage co-operatively in this matter now that the Premier League's jurisdiction has been established for the period ending FY24 (financial year 2024)." More to follow.
