Schwarzenegger wants an independent panel to draw lawmakers' districts, possibly creating more competitive races for Congress and the state Legislature. One proposal would require that every district have numbers of Republican and Democratic voters within 7 percentage points of each other. In many California districts, the margins are much wider, virtually assuring reelection for whichever party dominates.
Legislative districts get new boundaries every 10 years, after the national census is completed. In California and most other states, the ruling political party crafts those boundaries. Schwarzenegger wants the independent panel to begin work next year -- not in 2011, the next scheduled date for redistricting.
Schwarzenegger said he does not expect financial support for his plan from the national political parties; most of the complaints he has received on the subject have come from Republicans. California Republicans in Congress worry they could lose their seats in any reshuffling.
"I will not get the backing from the traditional party guys, because they're against redistricting," the governor said.
For its part, Wall Street has an enormous stake in how Schwarzenegger proposes to transform California's pension systems for teachers and state workers, now worth nearly $300 billion in combined assets.
Schwarzenegger's plan would move new state employees into individual 401(k) investment plans by mid-2007. That means Wall Street investment houses would be able to work with tens of thousands of clients instead of just the handful of expert investors at CalPERS and CalSTRS, the two public pension systems. The windfall could be huge.
The governor said his plans will be closely watched in other states, and that national curiosity would translate into campaign donations as well. Money will be coming from both people who support his agenda and others who are opposed, he said.
"You know that with the pensions there are a lot of states that are struggling," he said. "Some of them have already redone the pension plan, trying to go to the 401(k). Others are still struggling with that. They're looking at California, and where California goes, they'll be able to go.
"So there is national interest here: from the various interest groups, from the unions, from everybody," Schwarzenegger added. "So there will be national money coming in to fight us and national money coming in to help us fight the battle."
