Republicans and Democrats came together in the Nebraska State Legislature last week to pass historic reform legislation, breaking down political barriers to put the voters first for once, but the Governor has chosen to stand in the way of reform and veto the bill.
In announcing Monday's veto of the Redistricting Reform bill (LB580), the Governor said a proposed new Citizens Commission would be "highly likely to be composed of Party insiders who know how to draw districts to favor their friends and political allies," opening the process to "political cronyism."
The Commission would be composed of five members of the Party that won the most recent Gubernatorial election and four members of the other Party. Redistricting plans recommended by the Commission would be aired at public hearings throughout the state before being submitted to the Legislature for its approval or disapproval.
In his veto message to the Legislature, Ricketts argued that the bill "violates several provisions of Nebraska's Constitution."
Supporters of the measure, a product of several years of cooperative negotiation by Sen. John Murante of Gretna, a Republican, and Sen. Heath Mello of Omaha, a Democrat, have said the proposal actually would distance Redistricting from elected officeholders, political parties and partisan influence. Murante said he is "evaluating the governor's veto message and will determine the proper course of action shortly."
In 2011, following the most recent U.S. census, Republican Gov. Dave Heineman was actively engaged in the process of drawing new Congressional districts to benefit his Party, several Senators said during debate on the bill. And Senators themselves were often seeking political advantage in drawing maps defining their own Legislative districts five years ago, supporters of the bill said.
The bill cleared its final test on a 29-15 vote; 30 votes would be required to override the Governor's veto.
This is the worst kind of partisanship, and it’s tearing our country apart. We know rigged elections are ruining our democracy, but moments like this one are too important to miss.
Even when leaders have the courage to stand for reform, politicians will fight tooth and nail to protect their power. That’s why Independent Lines is fighting to put reform on the ballot in states across the nation, to put power back in the hands of voters.
CLICK HERE to sign a petition to put obstructionist politicians like Gov. Ricketts on notice: If they continue to refuse to fix this broken system, then we will fix it for them.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
No comments:
Post a Comment