By Garrison Frost*

Mike Gordon will be our next representative to California's 53rd Assembly district.

Some might balk at this statement. They might argue that the actual election to replace current Assemblyman George Nakano isn't until November. They might also point out that all Gordon has done so far is win the Democratic primary, that there are still many other opponents to vanquish, particularly Greg Hill, the Republican candidate.

These might seem like legitimate arguments, but they really aren't. And the reason they aren't has to do with the redistricting that took place in 2001 throughout the state. While citizens apparently were looking the other way, Democrats and Republicans in 2001 forged a deal on redistricting that essentially froze the status quo as to the balance of power between the two parties in California. In essence, the lines were redrawn so as to ensure that districts currently held by members of a certain party would stay with that party. To do this, they looked at voter registration and historical voting patterns to lock in the Democrats' supremacy and retain the Republicans' ebbing status.

The upshot of this is that the only real contests take place in the primaries. The actual election is merely the fait accompli. Some might say that this isn't a problem because the voters still have their say in the primaries. But that's not completely true, because primary battles are far from democratic.

Because of redistricting, Gordon was a lock for the seat before anyone had a chance to cast a vote for him or any opponent. Greg Hill was a non-factor before he ever tossed his name into the ring.

Gordon didn't have much of a say in redistricting, but he has certainly benefited from the current situation as much as anyone else. Gordon, who has a long history as a party insider, owns a telemarketing firm that has a long list of prominent Democrats as clients. With this experience, he was able to raise an intimidating $600,000 prior to the March primary. This $600,000 is way more than he would ever need to win the election, but it's highly useful in the behind-the-scenes contest for support with his party. By raising so much money, Gordon demonstrates that he can help his fellow Democrats financially when he moves to Sacramento. Moreover, he can scare any potential rivals right off the ballot. Before the campaigning even began for the Democratic primary, Gordon had locked up endorsements from every major Democrat in the area, as well as their assistance in dissuading any up-and-comers from forging a primary challenge. This all worked pretty well for Gordon, who ran unopposed in the primary, and will skate to a victory in the actual election.

So what's the problem? Just this: that the gerrymandering of districts has grossly and improperly manipulated the state's democratic system, and the result is that a career party hack who runs a telemarketing firm for Democrats can skate into office without ever having to explain why he is fit to lead anyone, needless to say a district of 423,395 people.

(April 30, 2004)

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