Draft redistricting maps put Ted and Beth Gaines in a bit of a predicament
By Jim Sanders
Published: Friday, Jul. 22, 2011 - 12:00 am | Page 3A
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'Til death do them part, sure, but nobody envisioned this.
Ted and Beth Gaines, the Legislature's only married couple, find themselves in an odd predicament from the latest draft maps by California's independent redistricting commission.
Beth's Assembly career apparently would benefit by her continuing to live in the couple's Roseville home, but Ted's Senate career could be in jeopardy unless he pulls up stakes and moves.
The two Republicans are not talking because boundary lines could change before an Aug. 15 vote on final maps, but tentatively, Beth is targeted for a safe GOP seat and Ted should grab some Excedrin.
Specifically, Ted would be separated from most of the voters who elected him and placed in a Senate district dominated by GOP colleague Doug LaMalfa and stretching to Red Bluff.
The dilemma could be resolved, however, by the Gaineses moving elsewhere in Placer County. This would allow Ted to run for an adjoining Senate seat, slated to stretch from Nevada to the Oregon border.
"Three-dimensional chess," Matt Rexroad, a GOP political consultant, said of myriad possibilities emerging from the redrawing of political boundaries, which occurs once each decade.
A decision expected this week by the redistricting commission, the numbering of new districts, could turn the tables and benefit Ted Gaines by pulling the rug out from under LaMalfa.
LaMalfa, R-Richvale, could be forced to consider moving if the commission decides that his district should elect a new senator next year – two years before his term expires.
"Odd things happen all over the place when incumbency is not a consideration," Doug Johnson, a Rose Institute redistricting expert, said of California's new process for drawing legislative and congressional districts.
Approval of Proposition 11 in 2008 created a citizens panel to determine districts by using criteria that did not allow consideration of party registration or incumbent officeholders' homes.
The result has been draft maps that often place two or more incumbents into a single legislative district, such as in Sacramento, where Democratic Assemblymen Roger Dickinson and Richard Pan could be forced to butt heads.
Larry Gerston, a political science professor at San Jose State University, said voters are likely to be patient because the new system stripped the Legislature of authority to draw its own districts and gerrymander lines for political purposes.
"I would imagine some legislators will find themselves suddenly drawn outside their district," Gerston said. "Will this be unusual? Yes. Will the public accept it? Probably."
Political analyst Tony Quinn, a former legislative staffer, said the Gaineses' predicament never should have occurred because it makes little sense to extend LaMalfa's Senate district into Roseville.
"What the public is going to be mad about is: Why do we have such crazy-looking districts?" Quinn said.
Steve Davey, Ted Gaines' chief of staff, noted that new districts are not final until, well, until they're final.
"Senator Gaines is going to wait until the commission finishes its work before making any comments or decisions," Davey said. "In the meantime, Senator Gaines urges everyone to take part in the redistricting process."
Beth's Assembly career apparently would benefit by her continuing to live in the couple's Roseville home, but Ted's Senate career could be in jeopardy unless he pulls up stakes and moves.
The two Republicans are not talking because boundary lines could change before an Aug. 15 vote on final maps, but tentatively, Beth is targeted for a safe GOP seat and Ted should grab some Excedrin.
Specifically, Ted would be separated from most of the voters who elected him and placed in a Senate district dominated by GOP colleague Doug LaMalfa and stretching to Red Bluff.
The dilemma could be resolved, however, by the Gaineses moving elsewhere in Placer County. This would allow Ted to run for an adjoining Senate seat, slated to stretch from Nevada to the Oregon border.
"Three-dimensional chess," Matt Rexroad, a GOP political consultant, said of myriad possibilities emerging from the redrawing of political boundaries, which occurs once each decade.
A decision expected this week by the redistricting commission, the numbering of new districts, could turn the tables and benefit Ted Gaines by pulling the rug out from under LaMalfa.
LaMalfa, R-Richvale, could be forced to consider moving if the commission decides that his district should elect a new senator next year – two years before his term expires.
"Odd things happen all over the place when incumbency is not a consideration," Doug Johnson, a Rose Institute redistricting expert, said of California's new process for drawing legislative and congressional districts.
Approval of Proposition 11 in 2008 created a citizens panel to determine districts by using criteria that did not allow consideration of party registration or incumbent officeholders' homes.
The result has been draft maps that often place two or more incumbents into a single legislative district, such as in Sacramento, where Democratic Assemblymen Roger Dickinson and Richard Pan could be forced to butt heads.
Larry Gerston, a political science professor at San Jose State University, said voters are likely to be patient because the new system stripped the Legislature of authority to draw its own districts and gerrymander lines for political purposes.
"I would imagine some legislators will find themselves suddenly drawn outside their district," Gerston said. "Will this be unusual? Yes. Will the public accept it? Probably."
Political analyst Tony Quinn, a former legislative staffer, said the Gaineses' predicament never should have occurred because it makes little sense to extend LaMalfa's Senate district into Roseville.
"What the public is going to be mad about is: Why do we have such crazy-looking districts?" Quinn said.
Steve Davey, Ted Gaines' chief of staff, noted that new districts are not final until, well, until they're final.
"Senator Gaines is going to wait until the commission finishes its work before making any comments or decisions," Davey said. "In the meantime, Senator Gaines urges everyone to take part in the redistricting process."
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