In 2008, I led efforts to fundamentally change California’s redistricting process.
With an unusual coalition of left, right and center allies, we created the nation’s first independent citizens redistricting commission. The power to draw voting maps was taken from politicians and given to people like you and me.
Today our redistricting process is independent and community-led with the goal of keeping communities together in the new maps. No longer behind closed doors, drawing voting lines is conducted openly and transparently.

"Si Bob Phillips ang maganda sa pulitika," sabi ni Dennis Wicker sa The News & Observer sa isang panayam. Si Wicker, isang Democrat, ay nagsilbi bilang tenyente gobernador mula 1993 hanggang 2000 at itinuturing na pinagkakatiwalaang tagapayo si Phillips, noon at ngayon.
"Naiintindihan niya na nagsisimula ang serbisyo publiko sa patas na halalan at bukas na halalan," sabi ni Wicker. "Siya ay isang tunay na naniniwala na ang mahusay na serbisyo publiko ay ipinanganak mula sa isang malakas at patas na demokrasya."

Boston's rally was bipartisan, with not only Democrats invited to speak but also former Massachusetts Republican Gov. William Weld, who is challenging Trump for the GOP presidential nomination, said Pam Wilmot, the executive director of Common Cause Massachusetts, one of the organizers.
"We want to demonstrate that people care about this, that the rule of law is important and that our country will not stand for a fake trial and just sweeping this under the rug," Wilmot said. "This is a serious matter. It should not be about...

The political maps of the past decade have favored rural voters, said Common Cause North Carolina Executive Director Bob Phillips. Rural voters tend to support Republicans, and the maps were drawn to cement Republicans’ power. Plus, he said, many of North Carolina’s most powerful lawmakers are from rural areas themselves.
Phillips, who is an advocate for redistricting reform, said he is still trying to convince Republican leaders like them to pass reforms in the next few months, before the 2020 elections. In part, he said, he...

Two more House Republicans have announced their retirement, adding to over a dozen House Republicans that will not be seeking re-election in 2020. Suzanne Almeida from the Common Cause Redistricting Counsel explains what role redistricting may have played in their decision.

The anti-gerrymandering group Common Cause North Carolina was a plaintiff in the lawsuit over the legislative lines, not the congressional lines, but the group’s executive director, Bob Phillips, was in court Monday to watch nevertheless. He said he will continue to push for more permanent reforms at the Legislature, so that future districts can be drawn with “much more robust public input” and potentially avoid so many legal challenges.
“I think there’s a lot of room for improvement on transparency,” Phillips said....

Bakit mas maganda ito? Isaalang-alang kung paano gumagana ang isang presidential primary sa kasalukuyang sistema. Patuloy kaming naglalaro ng aming boto, sinusubukang malaman kung sino ang maaaring manalo sa isang pangkalahatang halalan, o kung sino ang nakakuha ng pinakamahusay na pagkakataon sa Iowa, kumpara sa pagboto para sa kung sino ang gusto namin dahil gusto namin ang kanilang paninindigan. Ilang beses pa ba tayong kailangang magbasa ng mga thinkpiece tungkol sa kung ang isang babae o isang taong may kulay ay maaaring piliin? Sa ranggo-choice na pagboto, maaari kang bumoto gamit ang iyong puso at iyong ulo — nang hindi nababahala tungkol sa pagsasabotahe.

“It’s extremely troubling,” said Beth Rotman of Common Cause, a group that filed complaints Federal Election Commission and Department of Justice complaints about the Parnas and Fruman donations. “The money should absolutely be returned. It shows a really problematic appearance of a conflict [of interest].”

Paul Seamus Ryan, vice president of policy and litigation at Common Cause, is among those questioning even the narrow campaign finance analysis. Common Cause has filed a complaint with the Justice Department and the Federal Election Commission accusing Trump of violating campaign law. It wouldn't have been difficult for the government to determine how much money Ukraine would have spent in an investigation of Joe Biden and his son, he said. "That would give them a dollar amount to show that Trump solicited 'something of value,'" Ryan said.