# My fellow Californians, and our legislature...

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-fellow-californians-and-our-legislature/497074>\
**Category:** The BBQ Pit\
**Created:** [May 20, 2009, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-fellow-californians-and-our-legislature/497074 "2009-05-20T15:14:14Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 4

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**Author:** ![Algher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Algher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algher)\
**Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-fellow-californians-and-our-legislature/497074/61 "2009-05-22T17:17:51Z")

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> [@Pleonast](#):
>
> I’m definitely against term limits–constituents need to be able to reelect good legislators. What I think needs to be changed is the gerrymandering system for creating districts. Districts should be formed based on population and compactness only, and not other things like party affiliation, race, income, etc. Either that or open primaries where all candidates compete in the primary and the top two advance to the general election. Both methods (singly or together) will prevent a single party from locking up a seat based on appealing to a minority of constituents rather than all of them.

With the next census, the districts will be done by a panel of retired judges. Arnold got THAT ballot prop done, but it will take a decade for the effect to be felt.

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**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\
**Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-fellow-californians-and-our-legislature/497074/62 "2009-05-22T17:43:28Z")

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> [@Algher](#):
>
> With the next census, the districts will be done by a panel of retired judges. Arnold got THAT ballot prop done, but it will take a decade for the effect to be felt.

Actually, Arnold’s retired judge proposal failed. It was [Prop 11](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Proposition_11_(2008)) that passed. It has a complicated selection system, with any voter who isn’t otherwise politically active eligible.

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**Author:** ![MysteryFellow63427](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e4f/32.png) [@MysteryFellow63427](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MysteryFellow63427)\
**Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-fellow-californians-and-our-legislature/497074/63 "2009-05-22T17:48:18Z")

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> [@DSYoungEsq](#):
>
> a $500,000 home (a damned expensive home, even in California, though in the Bay Area, possibly the median value!)

As of [2007, the median price for all California homes was nearly $560,000](http://www.empirefresno.com/california-median-home-price.htm). :eek:

But Holy Bubbles, Batman!! A 38% drop occurred last year, and the median CA price for 2008 was $346,750. Nationwide median last year was $198,600, for comparison.

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