Santa Barbara resident Michael Warnken is campaigning to expand
the California State Assembly from 80 members to about 800, which
would limit each assemblymember to 40,000 constituents. Warnken
argues this would make each representative more responsive. As a
UCSB student in 2002, Warnken targeted a Santa Barbara Board of
Supervisors’ resolution that condemned the Boy Scouts for barring
homosexuals; due to Warnken’s efforts, the resolution was
overturned. Unlike his 2002 initiative, which appealed primarily to
conservatives, Warnken’s most recent campaign has received a
positive reception at both Libertarian and Green Party meetings. A
draft of the initiative is under consideration by the legislative
counsel’s office, which has six weeks to work out the final
language before Warnken can collect signatures to get it on the
June ballot.
