INITIATIVE POWER STILL NECESSARY FOR REFORM.

Byline: Jon Coupal

YOU can already hear the collective gloating of California's political elites over Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's misfortunes related to his reform agenda.

The gloating emanating from the elites is due not only to Arnold's diminished stature in a few opinion polls, but also from rough treatment dished out to the initiatives, which comprise his reform efforts. The latest blow came when a trial court last week ordered the redistricting initiative from the ballot because there were slight differences between the version filed with the attorney general and the wording of the petitions that were circulated to voters.

Under the heading ``no good deed goes unpunished,'' it is interesting to note that the error was not discovered by the attorney general - who is now, of course, outraged - the secretary of state or the opponents of the measure. No, the error was voluntarily disclosed by the proponents.

Because the error was minor, and the need for reform so great, we hope the proponents succeed in their efforts to appeal the ruling.

The current system reflects the ultimate in political self-interest: politicians picking their voters, not the other way around. We're never going to get meaningful reform until the current abominable system for drawing district lines is changed.

Which brings up why the initiative power is so necessary to accomplish real reform. The very purpose of the initiative power, which Hiram Johnson helped us to secure almost 100 years ago, was to establish for the people a means by which to bypass a legislature that was indolent, incompetent or corrupt.

Guess what? It still works.

Those who look down their noses at their constituents smugly maintain that the difficulty Schwarzenegger has had with his initiatives proves that direct democracy is demonstrably inferior to giving elected leaders exclusive jurisdiction over public policy.

But let's take a closer look.

First of all, there is a profound double standard at work here. When it comes to bills emanating from the Legislature, politicians violate the rules all the time. For example, after a certain deadline in the legislative calendar, new bills may not be introduced. But through the process of ``gut and amend,'' new proposals can spring forth at the 11th hour - sometimes in the dark of night - and pass with a few minutes' notice. Moreover, the Legislature frequently violates constitutionally imposed deadlines, like the passage of the budget, without consequences.

On the other hand, when the people exercising the initiative, referendum or recall fail to cross a single ``t'' or dot a single ``i,'' the measure stands a good chance of being bounced.

As to the often-heard, self-serving allegation that the people are not sophisticated enough to deal meaningfully with complicated issues, it is surely a case of the pot calling the kettle black. Who was it that gave us the legislation that caused the energy crisis a few years ago? It was the Legislature with all its deliberative glory.

Does anyone really believe that lawmakers pay closer attention to details than the proponents of initiatives? The language of an initiative is available to officials and the public for analysis over the course of several months while many of the bills that spew from the Capitol are unread by the lawmakers who approved them.

Another fact that is sometimes overlooked in discussion of the initiative process is that the mere threat of initiative can result in getting lawmakers to move on an issue. Exhibit A is that workers' compensation premiums are way down after the Legislature took action out of fear of being pre-empted by a potential ballot measure that would have received Schwarzenegger's blessing.

Whatever the elites say, direct democracy is still very popular. It is the only method by which we jettisoned a venally corrupt governor just two years ago. And it is the only way we are going to get political reform, budget reform and public-sector influence reform.