Gilbert’s legislative districts, and those of other communities across Arizona will be decided by Strategic Telemetry, a campaign consulting firm for left-wing candidates. This organization was selected by the Independent Redistricting Commission.
And who is the president of Strategic Telemetry? Ken Strasma. He headed the national targeting efforts for Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. Prior to this he was the research director of the National Committee for an Effective Congress, which is a progressive lobbying group. According to the Huffington Post, in 2010, he donated to the Feingold (D) Senate Committee and to Tammy Baldwin (D) for Congress. He isn’t exactly impartial.
So who gave this kind of power to the Independent Redistricting Commission? We did!
Prop 106, one of those countless voter approved initiatives, was approved by the voters in November 2000. It created the Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC). It’s just another example of how we “the people" handcuff our duly elected representatives and shoot ourselves in the foot.
Who was in favor of Prop 106? Janet Napolitano, Terry Goddard, and Rebecca Rios among others.
Who was opposed to Prop 106? Arizona Chamber of Commerce, Americans for Tax Reform, JD Hayworth, Matt Salmon, and John Shadegg among others. They warned all us: “Prop 106 will turn the drafting of Arizona’s political districts over to a small group of 5 individuals who are not accountable to voters.”
They were right.
Read More:
http://www.azsos.gov/election/2000/info/pubpamphlet/english/prop106.htm
http://sonoranalliance.com/2011/06/29/arizona-independent-redistricting-commission-picks-leftist-progressive-firm-to-draw-arizona-lines/#comments
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/129/all-politics-is-micro.html
http://fundrace.huffingtonpost.com/neighbors.php?type=name&lname=Strasma&fname=Ken