EDITORIAL GOOD TIMING.IT was clear how afraid legislators are of losing their seats by their fierce bipartisan fight to squelch squelch v. squelched, squelch·ing, squelch·es v.tr. 1. To crush by or as if by trampling; squash. 2. the open primary measure, Proposition 62. If the measure had passed, it would have given challengers with moderate political views reflective Refers to light hitting an opaque surface such as a printed page or mirror and bouncing back. See reflective media and reflective LCD. of their communities a real chance to win seats despite the gerrymandering gerrymandering Drawing of electoral district lines in a way that gives advantage to a particular political party. The practice is named after Massachusetts Gov. Elbridge Gerry, who submitted to the state senate a redistricting plan that would have concentrated the voting . But the need to create a more democratic system hasn't gone away. Ted Costa, the political activist who launched the recall of Gov. Gray Davis, is now sponsoring a ballot measure to redraw To redisplay an image on screen whether text or graphics. The concept is that the first time elements are displayed, they are "drawn," and if something is changed, they are "redrawn." Applications often have a Refresh command that redraws the screen. districts every 10 years by a panel of three retired judges. It's not yet clear whether Costa's measure is the best way, or whether someone else will come up with a better plan. But it is definitely the right time to start a public debate about revising this atrocious process, particularly in light of the new assault taking shape on term limits. |
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