Sounding Off -- Cindy Cross

As a long time supporter of the concept of districts, and a volunteer

signature gatherer for the petition to place the new districting

initiative on the November ballot, I was greatly amused by the article on

councilman Ralph Bauer’s “Good Government” committee.

Bauer has entertained us all (at more than one council meeting)

pontificating on the evils of government by district. In many ways, the

council majority’s outspoken opposition to the initiative has been a

blessing; simply pointing this out has garnered more than one “undecided”

to quickly put pen to petition and jump on board.

In that respect, those of us who support the initiative owe a great

deal of gratitude to the council. Although the district initiative was

not designed as a tool to slap the hands of this particular council, its

opposition seems to be the catalyst for many signers.

Bauer has now suddenly changed his mind and hopes to present an

alternative to the initiative that would include districts, albeit seven

instead of five, with citywide elections for each seat, instead of the

proposed elections within each district.

It doesn’t take a genius to see through this transparent scheme to

thwart the will of the people and manipulate the system. What possible

benefit would be gained from having a representative from my district get

elected by some special interest group largely located in another

district?

With Ralph Bauer’s plan, each district representative would be that in

name only. Your district representative could afford to completely ignore

the wants and desires of your friends and neighbors, knowing they could

simply campaign harder in another area of town and still get elected. How

does that help bring government closer to the people and more in step

with local issues that really matter?

In addition, under Bauer’s plan, the cost of campaigning would

continue to require too much money, since candidates would still need to

get their messages out to the entire city and not just their districts.

How does this help us get the best candidates with the freshest ideas but

the least access to big money?

Clearly, Bauer is not a serious advocate for districts and this “Good

Government” committee is a farce. It is also highly insulting and not the

kind of thing we should have to expect from our elected officials.

CINDY CROSS is a Huntington Beach resident.