Yesterday the State Senate finally upheld its promise to hold a vote on SCA 3 - redistricting reform, passing the bill with a vote of 27-11. We applaud the Senators who had the courage to stand up for redistricting reform and give up their own power to draw districts. Or next step is to call Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez (916-319-2046) to tell him the bill is not dead and he needs to schedule a hearing next week on SCA 3 - ideally, Tuesday August 22.

Californians have a second chance of seeing public financing of state elections becoming a reality in the November election.

Prop 89, the Clean Money and Fair Elections Act, creates a voluntary system of public financing and limits political contributions to candidates and ballot measures. It will ensure that people with true grassroots support will be able to mount credible campaigns without having to rely on wealthy special interests to bankroll - and buy - their political platforms.

State public financing has already proven to be successful in both Maine and Arizona and we are working hard to add California to that list. Check out our Prop 89 webpage for more information.

In California, Common Causers are biting our nails. Our members, Board and staff have lobbied hard for the Legislature to put a redistricting bill on the November ballot that would create a balanced and impartial system of drawing districts, SCA 3. So far these efforts have not been enough to push this bill through the hazy fog of political deal making. Despite being scheduled for a floor vote many times, the state senate has failed to move SCA 3 through the Legislature.

There is still time for the Legislature to put a bill on the ballot. We must make sure our representatives understand how important this is to Californians. We are working with city councils to pass resolutions calling on state lawmakers to support redistricting reform that will respect our neighborhoods and cities over incumbent political interests.

The Palo Alto City Council voted on Monday, June 26th to pass a resolution in support of fair and public redistricting drawn by an independent commission of California voters. This makes Palo Alto the first city in California to officially support the creation of an independent redistricting commission along the lines of SCA 3. We applaud them for their support in telling the Legislature that cities should not be cut up by district lines. Hopefully the State Senate will listen as they prepare to vote on SCA 3 this week.