SB - 198 is a redistricting criteria bill

[joseph richey <richey80304@xxxxxxxxx>]

An appeal for letters of support arrived from Gordon
in this emial:

This Election Does(n't) Matter

Rob Witwer, a Representative from Jefferson County,
and I are the sponsors of Senate Bill 198, which would
promote electoral competition as a factor that should
be considered when the legislature draws congressional
district maps in 2011.

It is controversial. If democracy means anything, it
shouldn?t be. Perhaps you can help. Read a little
more.


Colorado elects seven members to the United States
House of Representatives. This is a body that has 435
members. According to Common Cause, over 85 percent of
incumbents win landslide victories of more than 20
percent. There was often greater turnover in the
former USSR ?s Politburo than there is in the US
House.


A seat that has such a large majority of either
Democrats or Republicans that the result is a foregone
conclusion is called a ?safe? seat. In a ?safe? seat
the election that matters is the partisan primary.
These are usually poorly attended events held in
August. The voters come disproportionately from the
ends of the political spectrum and, not surprisingly,
they tend to result in the election of people who have
similar views. Unaffiliated voters, of whom there are
now a great many, and general election voters are
irrelevant.   

Congress people from ?safe? seats do not have to pay
attention to the views of many of the voters in their
district. They can be more ideological and less
interested in actual problem-solving. Marilyn
Musgrave?s comment that the biggest problem facing the
United States is gay marriage comes to mind, although
I am sure it is possible to find examples at the other
end of the spectrum as well.


A competitive district is a district where you don?t
know who is going to win in advance. You actually have
to hold the election. I am going to go out on a limb
here and say that having competitive elections is
necessary if you want to have a working democracy. The
fact that we have so few for Congress is part of the
reason that Congress doesn?t accomplish as much as we
would like, and their approval rating hovers around 20
percent. 

Many of the members of Congress don?t think that
people in the other party are just wrong-they think
that they are immoral. They don?t see any point in
trying to work with them for compromises that help the
people of the country. Instead they spend way too much
time on ?gotcha? politics or ?wedge? issues intended
to make the other party look bad so that they can win
more seats in the next election. These comments are
not meant as a criticism of any particular member of
Congress. For instance, Lino, this is not a criticism
of your wife, who I hold in high esteem. However, as a
system, it is designed to fail even though some of the
individual members do an excellent job.


A Congress that is elected in general elections rather
than in primaries would have a larger proportion of
people who are pragmatic problem solvers who can work
in the middle. They would have to learn to work in the
middle to win an election in a competitive seat. 

So, back to Senate Bill 198: it says that after
looking at the other factors required by law for
creating congressional districts ?the General Assembly
shall create districts that promote fair and effective
representation and electoral competition.? 12 members
of the Colorado Senate voted against it. You can get
outraged now. 


Some members of Congress who have gotten elected under
the current system think it is a good system and are
advocates for it. The rest of us benefit from having
elections that actually matter. 

In competitive seats the voters pick the elected
officials. In ?safe seats? the elected officials pick
the voters. If you care about this, contact members of
the House State Affairs Committee.  They will be
voting on the bill probably the same day you are
reading this. This is how you get in touch with them.


Representative Paul Weissmann: reppaul@xxxxxxx
Representative Nancy Todd:
nancy.todd.house@xxxxxxxxxxx
Representative Ed Casso:
edward.casso.house@xxxxxxxxxxx
Representative Mike Ferrandino: mferrandino@xxxxxxxxx
Representative Rafael Gallegos: llegosoyyo@xxxxxxx
Representative Jeanne Labuda: replabuda@xxxxxxxxx
Representative Kent Lambert:
rep.kent.lambert@xxxxxxxxxxx
Representative Marsha Looper: marshalooper@xxxxxxxxx
Representative Kevin Lundberg: kevin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Representative Tom Massey:
tom.massey.house@xxxxxxxxxxx
Representative Karen Middleton:
karen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  

Now would be a good time. Please forward this to your
list.

Sincerely,
Ken Gordon
Majority Leader
Colorado State Senate

--- Margit Johansson <margitjo@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> Here is the same list of House State...Affairs Comm.
> members which I sent
> earlier, but not as an attachment, for those who may
> have earlier versions
> of Word.
> Margit
> 
> 
> House State, Veterans, and Military Affairs
> Committee MEMBERS, 2008  CONTACT
> INFO
> 
> 
>  ------------------------------
> 
> *Representative Paul Weissmann*
> 
> *Representative*
> 
> *Dist.*
> 
> *Counties*
> 
> *Pty.*
> 
> *Occupation*
> 
>  *Telephone*
> 
> Weissmann, Paul
> (Wife: Brenda)
> 
> 12
> 
> Boulder
> 
> D
> 
> Bartender/ Restaurant Manager
> 
>  Cap: 303-866-2920
> E-mail: reppaul@xxxxxxx
> 
> Chair: State, Veterans, & Military Affairs; Member:
> Appropriations
> 
> Member Home
>
Page<http://www.state.co.us/gov_dir/leg_dir/house/members/hou12.htm>.
> 
> 
> 
> *Representative Nancy Todd*
> 
> *Representative*
> 
> *Dist.*
> 
> *Counties*
> 
> *Pty.*
> 
> *Occupation*
> 
>  *Telephone*
> 
> Todd, Nancy
> (Husband: Terry)
> 
> 41
> 
> Arapahoe
> Denver
> 
> D
> 
> Retired teacher
> 
>  Cap: 303-866-2919
> E-mail: nancy.todd.house@xxxxxxxxxxx
> 
> Vice-Chair: State, Veterans, & Military Affairs;
> Member: Education
> 
> Member Home
>
Page<http://www.state.co.us/gov_dir/leg_dir/house/members/hou41.htm>.
> 
> *Representative Edward Casso*
> 
> *Representative*
> 
> *Dist.*
> 
> *Counties*
> 
> *Pty.*
> 
> *Occupation*
> 
>  *Telephone*
> 
> Casso, Edward
> (Wife: Selena)
> 
> 32
> 
> Adams
> 
> D
> 
> Legislator
> 
>  Cap: 303-866-2964
> E-mail: edward.casso.house@xxxxxxxxxxx
> 
> Majority Deputy Whip; Member of Business Affairs and
> Labor; State, Veterans,
> & Military Affairs
> 
> Member Home
>
Page<http://www.state.co.us/gov_dir/leg_dir/house/members/hou32.htm>.
>  ------------------------------
> 
> *Representative Mark Ferrandino*
> 
> *Representative*
> 
> *Dist.*
> 
> *Counties*
> 
> *Pty.*
> 
> *Occupation*
> 
>  *Telephone*
> 
> Ferrandino, Mark
> 
> 2
> 
> Denver
> 
> D
> 
> Legislator
> 
>  Cap: 303-866-2911
> E-mail: mferrandino@xxxxxxxxx
> 
> Member of Appropriations; Finance; State, Veterans,
> & Military Affairs
> 
> Member Home
>
Page<http://www.state.co.us/gov_dir/leg_dir/house/members/hou02.htm>.
>  ------------------------------
> 
> * *
> 
> *Representative Rafael Gallegos*
> 
> *Representative*
> 
> *Dist.*
> 
> *Counties*
> 
> *Pty.*
> 
> *Occupation*
> 
>  *Telephone*
> 
> Gallegos, Rafael L
> (Wife: Mary Jean)
> 
> 62
> 
> Alamosa
> Conejos
> Costilla
> Huerfano
> Mineral
> Pueblo
> Rio Grande
> Saguache
> 
> D
> 
>  Cap: 303-866-2916
> 
> raphael.gallegos.house@xxxxxxxxxxx
> 
> Vice-Chairman: Agriculture, Livestock, & Natural
> Resources; House Services;
> Member: State, Veterans, & Military Affairs
> 
> Member Home
>
Page<http://www.state.co.us/gov_dir/leg_dir/house/members/hou62.htm>.
>  ------------------------------
> 
> *Representative Jeanne Labuda*
> 
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