California Special Election Watch: Schwarzenegger Endorses Ohio Redistricting Measure

The New York Times has Schwarzenegger Enters Debate Over Redistricting in Ohio.

Separate ballot measures in California and Ohio to remove lawmakers from the drawing of legislative districts have been dogged by accusations that they are essentially partisan power grabs.

Now Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, hopes to counter those claims by throwing his weight behind the Ohio measure, even though no prominent Republican elected official in that state has done so and many Republican lawmakers there are raising money to defeat it.

A campaign aide to Mr. Schwarzenegger, Darrel Ng, said Monday that the governor endorsed the Ohio measure, known on the Nov. 8 ballot as Issue 4, though he has not said so publicly. A top supporter of the measures in both states said Mr. Schwarzenegger would participate in a series of public events this week to signal his stance.

“He has agreed to do it,” said the supporter, Chellie Pingree, president of Common Cause, a watchdog group that is pushing for redistricting changes in more than a dozen states, including California and Ohio.

A calculated risk for the Governor that will undoubtedly rankle the House Republican leadership.

However, he, like John McCain can be viewed as a maverick who does what he thinks is RIGHT- without regard to Republican Party advantage.

Flap handicaps this to be a slight plus in California with independent voters who are now completing absentee ballots.

Technorati Tags: Arnold Schwarzenegger, California Recovery Team, California Special Election, Bear Flag League, Proposition 77, Issue 4

Cross-posted to the Bear Flag League Special Election Page