Howard Berman is my Congressman and lives in my community of Valley Village. I suppose he is my constituent as much as I am his owing to my post on the Neighborhood Council Valley Village.

It saddens me he is putting his self interests above respect for the people he serves.

You may recall Proposition 11 passed last year. It authorized a citizens’ commission to redraw the gerrymandered California legislative district lines rather than the political consultants who have been doing it - including none other than Congressman Berman’s brother Michael.

Now there is a move afoot to trample citizens’ involvement and undo Proposition 11.

It's called Proposition 27 and has qualified for the November 2010 ballot.

According to AARP's Facebook page, "Several news reports have revealed that Congressman Howard Berman is the real sponsor of the initiative, as is his brother, a redistricting consultant who has made millions drawing election districts to protect incumbent politicians. Campaign finance reports show that most of the measure’s funders are legislators and congressional representatives."
 

The Congressman is putting money on it – $10,000 to be exact. He is not alone. Here’s a partial list of contributors to the “FAIR” measure:

Karen Bass $50,000; Alex Padilla $15,000; Linda Sanchez $25,000; Nancy Pelosi $10,000; Mike Honda $10,000; Diane Watson $10,000; Howard Berman $10,000; Judy Chu $10,000.

Berman and his allies are not only trying to block Proposition 11, but also prevent the same commission from redrawing Congressional Districts - as called for by another proposed measure, which may also be on the ballot this fall.

According to George Skelton in his LA Times piece: “The odds are that Prop. 11 will survive. The repeal effort is blatantly cynical, and Californians probably will see through the bunkum. But this election year is unpredictable.”

Others feel the same way:  The Leaugue of Women Voters, Common Cause, California Forward Action Fund and the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce have joined AARP in opposition to Prop 27.

It was reported by the Sacramento Bee that Haim Saban, the creator of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, has loaned Berman’s group $2,000,000. That is enough to buy an army of Rangers to hand out pamphlets.

Berman’s initiative will most likely confuse some people by the deceptive name of its sponsoring organization – Financial Accountability in Redistricting Act (FAIR).

You can't trust people who resort to deception.