California: Nunez backs independent redistricting commission
San Jose Mercury News reports: Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez insisted Thursday he is ready to hand over the Legislature's power to draw political boundaries to an independent commission, casting the battle over reform as a test of whether lawmakers can trust citizens to remake the political landscape.
He also declared he is determined to put a redistricting measure on the ballot as early as Feb. 5, 2008, the same spot on the calendar where legislative leaders are hoping to move the state presidential primary. He said it won't be tied to a change in term limits that he and other Democrats want. ...
The proposal, which won't be formally introduced as a bill for several weeks, didn't touch on contentious subjects such as who will pick the commission members or whether congressional boundaries would be included, leading critics to wonder whether it was starting out on a shaky foundation. -- MercuryNews.com | 02/02/2007 | Núñez vows to push redistricting