[GPSCC-chat] Fwd: Re: [gpca-erwg] California Union Official Files Lawsuit to Alter Ballot Description of “Top-Two Open Primary”

[Jim Stauffer]

This is hilarious.

Jim



-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: [gpca-erwg] California Union Official Files Lawsuit to Alter
Ballot Description of “Top-Two Open Primary”
Date: Mon, 08 Mar 2010 08:27:19 -0800
From: Mike Feinstein <mfeinstein at feinstein.org>
Reply-To: mfeinstein at feinstein.org,        GP of Cal Electoral Reform WG
<gpca-erwg at cagreens.org>
To: GP of Cal Electoral Reform WG <gpca-erwg at cagreens.org>

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-open-primary8-2010mar08,0,1913305.story

Challenge could alter primary vote measure
Opponents of Proposition 14 want changes in its language, and its
legislative backers won't fight.

By Evan Halper

March 8, 2010


Saying a June ballot measure that would change how California's primary
elections are held won't deliver on its reform promises, opponents are
trying to change it -- and they appear to have allies in lawmakers who
helped put it on the ballot.

The legislators, who voted for the proposal grudgingly as part of a
budget deal last year, have directed their attorneys not to fight a
legal challenge that would significantly change the way the measure
appears before voters, according to a legislative spokesman. Proposition
14 would permit Californians to cast ballots in state primaries
regardless of candidates' or voters' party affiliations. It would not
apply to presidential contests.

The challenge was filed in Sacramento County Superior Court by a union
that is a large donor to the Democrats who control the Legislature.
Attorneys for the Legislature have agreed to a settlement that would
strip from the proposal statements that it would give voters more
options, encourage more voter participation in elections and "reform"
the election process.

The court will consider the proposed settlement as early as this week.

The Legislature's turnabout has enraged Proposition 14 proponents. They
say the refusal of lawmakers' lawyers to defend it as written is driven
by entrenched party bosses whose power could be undermined if voters
passed it.

"They don't want it to pass," said Steve Merksamer, an attorney for a
coalition that is campaigning in favor of the proposition. "This measure
goes to the heart of changing the system and changing their dominance."

Dave Low, a lobbyist for the California School Employees Assn., which
filed the suit, called accusations by the coalition that his union
worked out a backroom deal with legislative leaders to undermine the
measure "preposterous."

"They are trying to make a connection that doesn't exist," he said.

Low said legislative attorneys agreed to change the measure's language
because in its current form it is "untrue" and "biased."

On Sunday, the coalition issued a statement calling the pending
settlement an "illegal power grab." The group accused Democrats who
oppose the measure of using the union, which donated $421,000 to
Democrats last year, to undermine the measure. The coalition,
Californians for an Open Primary, includes AARP, the California Chamber
of Commerce and the California Business Roundtable.

On Tuesday, the coalition and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will ask the
court for standing in the case and seek to thwart the settlement.

Schwarzenegger spokesman Matt David said the deal reflects "Sacramento's
dysfunction and why Californians have lost faith in its ability to solve
problems. The governor will intervene in this case to fight for the
reform that Californians overwhelmingly support."

The Legislative Counsel's office declined to comment on the pending
case. A spokeswoman for Assembly Speaker John Pérez (D-Los Angeles) did
not respond to calls and e-mails.

Nathan Barankin, a spokesman for Senate leader Darrell Steinberg (D-
Sacramento), confirmed that the Legislature and school employees union
would take the proposed settlement to the court. He called charges of a
plot by Democrats to undermine the measure "bogus."

Barankin said Steinberg learned of the union's lawsuit after it was
filed. The Legislature wants the settlement, Barankin said, because its
lawyers say the measure's existing language is difficult to defend.

Proposition 14 was championed by state Sen. Abel Maldonado of Santa
Maria, one of the few moderate Republicans in the Legislature.
Maldonado, who was recently appointed to fill the vacant lieutenant
governor's post by Schwarzenegger but is awaiting legislative
confirmation, could benefit from any primary open to Democrats and
independents in addition to Republicans.

Only a handful of lawmakers are in that position.

The proposal was cobbled together amid intense budget negotiations last
year. As part of the deal, Barankin said, Maldonado and Schwarzenegger
insisted it not be changed. "It was presented as 'take it or leave it,'
" Barankin said.

evan.halper at latimes.com


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