Arnold Schwarzenegger wants to 'terminate' gerrymandering in Ohio
Arnold Schwarzenegger was wrapping up his time at the festival bearing his name on Sunday, but made time to throw his muscle behind an effort to place an anti-gerrymandering amendment to Ohio's Constitution on the Nov. 5 general election ballot.
"I was asked to come here since I was already in the building," the former California governor joked inside a packed meeting room at the Hilton Columbus Downtown as the four-day Arnold Sports Festival wrapped up.
But Schwarzenegger, a Republican, said he supports the Ohio anti-gerrymandering effort because he backed a similar initiative in California to create a citizens redistricting commission that he said has worked.
"Get the legislature and the lawmakers out of the redistricting business," Schwarzenegger said.
The "Terminate Gerrymandering" event was held to support an effort by the Citizens Not Politicians group to place an Ohio constitutional amendment on the Nov. 5 ballot that would replace the Ohio Redistricting Commission and the current way of drawing Ohio House and Senate and congressional districts.
It would be replaced with a 15-member citizen commission — five Republicans, five Democrats, and five independents — and stricter rules on gerrymandering. It also would ban current or former politicians, political party officials and lobbyists from the new commission's membership.
Schwarzenegger, now 76, said he didn't know much about redistricting when he was elected California's governor in 2003.
"I started getting into it," Schwarzenegger said. And he said what he found were liberal and conservative districts in California and not much in between.
"They'll draw it in a way where their job is secure," he said of politicians.
Why some believe Ohio needs gerrymandering reform
Citizens Not Politicians asserts that Ohio's system unfairly favors Republicans who control both the Ohio House and Senate as well as governor, attorney general, auditor and secretary of state.
In November, the Ohio Supreme Court's four Republican justices dismissed legal challenges to Ohio House and Senate maps, which will be in place through 2030.
The 4-3 vote, with three Democratic justices dissenting, came after five previous Supreme Court votes that rejected GOP-drawn maps, saying they unconstitutionally violated gerrymandering rules to favor Republicans.
"How many times did the court have to tell them they screwed up?" Schwarzenegger said. "They intentionally draw it to screw you.
"When there is no competition, there is no performance. Very simple," he said.
Former Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor, a Republican, was the swing vote in those five earlier court rulings. Current Chief Justice Sharon Kennedy, a Republican, replaced O'Connor in January 2023, and Gov. Mike DeWine appointed Cincinnati Republican Joe Deters to fill Kennedy's remaining two years as associate justice.
O'Connor is helping to drive the Citizens Not Politicians effort. She was not at Sunday's event, but sent a letter in support.
Citizens Not Politicians needs to gather more than 413,487 valid signatures from at least 44 counties by July 3 for the issue to make the Nov. 5 ballot.
Another who spoke at the event, Jen Miller, executive director of the League of Women Voters of Ohio, said the goal is to have an Ohio that represents the needs of every citizen.
Ange-Marie Hancock, a political science professor at Ohio State University's Kirwan Institute, said gerrymandering drives political polarization.
Schwarzenegger said while a new commission doesn't solve all political problems, it helps give voices to more sides.
"I didn't see Democrats as the villains," he said.
mferench@dispatch.com
@MarkFerenchik
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Arnold Schwarzenegger backs Ohio effort to 'terminate' gerrymandering
