Chronicle's Editorial Page Editor Steps in His Own Mess Kit

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

I had a hearty chuckle over the weekend reading the San Francisco Chronicle's editorial page editor, John Diaz, finding himself caught in the web he's weaved about "Sacramento politicians" dragging their feet on redistricting and election reform. Apparently the system we have in place is working in the Bay Area, and Diaz isn't quite sure how to deal with it.
 
Diaz reports that there are two hotly-contested Democratic primaries on the horizon: the much talked about face-off between Sen. Carole Migden and Assemblyman Mark Leno (with the possibility of the entry of former Assemblymember Joe Nation) as well as a potential donnybrook between incumbent Congressman Tom Lantos and former State Senator Jackie Speier. Indeed, these are looking like contests where Democrats will have to choose between outstanding candidates in safe Democratic districts.
 
Not that redistricting would change a thing. The Bay Area is solid Democratic; no possible map redrawing is going to change that. Yet Diaz constantly moans in his editorials about how redistricting is going to be the be-all and end-all that will change California politics.
 
Yet right in his own backyard there are two major challenges in the making.
 
Perhaps he'll realize soon that it's the advantages of incumbency and the lack of public financing that is what makes most election challenges uneven -- not redistricting. And while we certainly need to prevent lawmakers from drawing their own districts, real reform only will happen when we change the way campaigns are financed.