Gerrymandering In Action!

[NoodleBoy]

The Arizona Citizens' Clean Elections Commission has just produced a PDF regarding how many legislative districts in Arizona are not considered competitive:

http://www.azcleanelections.gov/ccecweb/ccecays/ccecPDF.asp?docPath=docs/2008OnePartyDominateDistrict.pdf

Predictably in this red state with a tradition of weak Democratic leadership (which is now being bucked heartily), most of the gerrymanders are in favor of Republicans, and there are enough districts gerrymandered for D's that there's little chance of a change of party-majority in the Arizona legislature.

However, early predictions in Arizona without John McCain as the Republican nominee in 2008 showed that the Democratic Party had a good shot at gaining a majority of seats in our legislature, and even with him running we've got a good chance of picking up two seats with others marginal.

How, you might ask, is this possible?

It's because of people like you-- or rather, people like you who got tired of screaming at the TV or complaining on the internet about politics and got out to volunteer locally.

The ballot initiative that gave Arizona a Clean Elections system was born from the sweat and determination of hundreds of activists across this state who wanted less tainted money determining how our state was run and more accountability in our elected officials.

So, if you want to change something, look up the Dem who's running a campaign in your area for something mundane sounding like State House of Reps, State Senate, County Commissioner, or School Board, and volunteer for them.

Once a week if you can, more if possible.

Reasons to scream at the TV or complain on the internet will be waiting for you when you get back, but there may be fewer reasons to after November because of it.