Driscoll Green was filled with excitement on Oct. 20 as Gov. John Hickenlooper and former governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger came to visit DU and give remarks about the Y&Z Amendment to terminate gerrymandering in Colorado.
Though Amendments Y and Z are two different measures, they are grouped together as they both strive for the same goal: to prohibit gerrymandering, the practice of manipulating district boundaries by a group or party to establish a political advantage. Amendment Y would focus on Congressional redistricting, while Amendment Z would focus on Legislative redistricting.
Games, food and booths with various groups from Young Republicans to League of Women Voters were set up before the rally began. People could walk up to these organizations to discuss the purpose of Amendments Y&Z, as well as learn about the organizations themselves.
“Voters should choose politicians; politicians should not choose their voters,” said Jean Fredlund, the At-Large Director of the League of Women Voters. “Hopefully Amendments Y&Z would provide more competitive and representative districts.”
When the rally began, Campaign Co-Chair Kent Thiry opened by welcoming everyone to the rally and stating his passion for Amendments Y&Z. Thiry then went on to explain his passion for these amendments and the importance of ending gerrymandering to give voters a better opportunity to vote for a politician that aligns more with their beliefs.
Gov. Hickenlooper then followed Thiry’s remarks by emphasizing the percentage needed for Amendments Y&Z to pass. 55 percent of voters must vote “yes” to pass Amendments Y&Z. Gov. Hickenlooper then emphasized the change voting “yes” on Amendments Y&Z could have on the United States as a whole.
“The national change on voting this is unrivaled,” said Gov. Hickenlooper. “Together we’re going to terminate gerrymandering with your support.”
After the Colorado governor spoke, the most anticipated part of the day came. Schwarzenegger rose to speak about his opinions on gerrymandering. He stated how he saw firsthand that Democrats and Republicans could not work together on any issues and realized gerrymandering was the reason. He then went on to say that gerrymandering put Democrats in one district and Republicans in another. Schwarzenegger said the only options voters had was a candidate who was either extremely liberal or extremely conservative.
“The Democrats and Republicans get together in a smoky backroom, and that’s where all the deals are happening every ten years,” said Schwarzenegger. “You never know anything about it and the press did not write about it.”
Schwarzenegger then said Democrats and Republicans in their respective districts could not be challenged or opposed because of their extreme left and right views. Schwarzenegger also said politicians can stay in office year after year and not perform to their voters’ wants and expectations.
“We want the politicians to be public servants and not party servants,” said Schwarzenegger. “They should serve the public, not the party.”
Schwarzenegger then encouraged voters to vote “yes” on the two amendments and he concluded his speech with one of his famous movie lines, “Hasta la vista, baby.”
