Fredreka Schouten

USA TODAY

A California businessman has an unusual proposal: Require state lawmakers to wear the emblems of their top donors.

The plan, by San Diego Republican John Cox, would mandate that all California legislators display the names of their largest financial backers on their clothing — much in the way a NASCAR driver’s jacket is emblazoned with sponsors’ logos.

As unorthodox as his plan seems, Cox says his paid signature-gatherers already are closing in on 250,000 signatures in an effort to place the “California is not for sale” measure on the November ballot. They are aiming to collect 500,000 by the end of April to ensure they end up with roughly 366,000 valid signatures required.

Cox, who ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in Illinois in 2002 and is funding the initiative fight himself, said his push is all about “ridiculing the current system” in California, which he says allows deep-pocketed special interests to fuel political campaigns. (Cox also served as president of the Cook County Republican Party’s central committee when he lived in Illinois.)

Eventually, he wants to push a plan to create what he calls “neighborhood” congressional and legislative districts.

Here’s how that would work: Instead of representing about 700,000 people in a congressional district, a U.S. House member’s district would be subdivided into 100 smaller areas, each representing some 7,000 people. The 100 people elected from each of those neighborhood districts would then pick a congressman from among their ranks.

Small districts would “totally wring the money out of the system” because reaching a few thousand voters would cost little, Cox said.

It costs a lot of money to run for Congress now. The winner of the average House race spent nearly $1.6 million to get elected in 2012, according to the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks federal campaign spending.