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Open primary gambit

Los Angeles Business Journal, June 30, 2003 by Howard Fine

As the budget crisis continues to play out in the state Capitol, both Democrats and Republicans are sticking to their ideological guns and showing no signs of compromise.

Sacramento observers point to two reasons for the impasse: safe seats that force the real election contests into the primaries, and closed primaries that lead to the selection of party candidates on the ideological extremes.

Since tinkering with redistricting is now out of the picture -- at least until after the next Census -- attention now focuses on opening up the party primaries.

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State Controller Steve Westly has said he intends to fund an initiative for either the March or November ballot next year to set up open primary elections in California, meaning voters of any political persuasion can vote for a party's candidates in the primary. "The closed primary, combined with redistricting, tends to leave us with a serious lack of moderates, with very liberal Democrats and very conservative Republicans," Westly said. "An open primary, where crossover voting is available, tends to encourage moderate politics."

This isn't the first time California has tried the open up party primaries.

In 1996, California voters passed an initiative to open up the party primaries -- and they were open for the 1998 elections. But both the Democratic and the Republican political parties sued to overturn the measure, saying they had the right to pick their own candidates. In 1999, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed and overturned the open primary initiative. So in the 2000 and 2002 elections, the primaries were closed once again.

Earlier this year, the California Chamber of Commerce and the California Business Roundtable tried to reopen the primaries, but pulled their proposal after opposition from Democrats and Republicans. With both groups seeking so many reforms in other areas, they opted not to push the issue.

Westly is unconcerned about such opposition. "I will not only support it, I will raise money for it," he said. "If necessary, I will write a check."

So how does he plan to get around the Supreme Court's ruling?

"We are looking at other states that do have open primary systems that have passed constitutional muster," said Westly's chief of staff, Greg Larson.

Business Services Industry

Open primary gambit

Los Angeles Business Journal, June 30, 2003 by Howard Fine

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