California Mid-Decade Redistricting Scheme
Beware of ethically challenged and desperate politicians intent on using the electorate as pawns in their relentless quest for power.
Governor Gavin Newsom, Attorney General Rob Bonta and loyal party leaders are moving with haste to put a redistricting measure on a special election ballot this November. They are invoking an emergency status to warrant the hasty process with minimal time, a mere five days, allowed for the drafting of thoughtful language and deliberation to influence the electorate. Their motive is raw political ambition, not even thinly veiled, an effort to eliminate Republican seats in the State House and the US House of Representatives. An element essential to candid communication in this regard is the fact that the voters of California have on two prior occasions exercised their right to call for an Independent Redistricting Commission. The voters spoke clearly and unequivocally, calling for a thoughtfully constructed commission to be comprised of five Democrats, five Republicans and four people not affiliated with either of the two major parties. Appropriate limitations have been placed on the persons who pursue service on the commission. They are subject to a vetting and selection process, they are precluded from most forms of political activism, they are prohibited from running for office, donating to the campaigns of candidates, or working for elected officials. The foregoing is the law of the state and represents a California State Constitutional Amendment that ensures adherence to this practice, for now.
Because the state of Texas, and most other states in the US do not have such an independent commission, the Texas legislature has the right to redraw legislative maps. The Lone Star State is not bound by any manner of restriction or constitutional language; they are free to do precisely what they are doing (SCOTUS – Rucho v Common Cause 2019) regardless of how many of us may feel about it, it is lawful. This concept of gerrymandering is not, as Governor Newsom relentlessly asserts, unprecedented. Rather, it is a plot that goes back to 1812. In fact, the very term gerrymandering was coined as a portmanteau of the word salamander and the name of Elbridge Gerry, who would become the Vice President of the United States, but in 1812 as governor of Massachusetts, signed a bill that created a partisan district in the Boston area. Obviously, by including salamander- a slimy crawling amphibian – the term was not intended to be flattering. The voters of California have recognized the unsavory element of such conduct and moved to eliminate that practice by force of law.
Our Attorney General, Mr. Bonta has publicly opined that Texas (and Florida) should have a commission and laws like we have in California; he is correct on that point. Nonetheless, he is working in concert with Governor Newsom and partisan legislative leaders in this state to usurp the twice expressed will of the people in 2008 and 2010, and the Constitutional Amendment their votes created.
The most recently drawn lines were completed by the independent commission in 2021 after the decennial census, consistent with current law. The deliberations of the commission were in public and conducted by persons who met the explicit criteria established in law created by California voters. Those decisions were made based upon enumerated criteria, and specifically not for the purpose of benefiting either political party. In fact, the final maps were criticized by both major political parties, likely a testament to their legitimacy. In addition, the work of the commission survived legal and political challenges.
The plan advanced by Governor Newsom and his sycophantic legislative leaders is unscrupulous by any reasonable measure. However, Attorney General Rob Bonta, whose job includes the obligation to represent the public interest, has breached his codified obligation to his constituents. Additionally, it will be his responsibility to defend this unprincipled scheme against a legal challenge. Further, his office holds the duty to draft the Title and Summary for your November ballot. Do you believe for a moment that his conduct thus far has demonstrated a scintilla of objectivity? We deserve an attorney general who will recognize and adhere to their fundamental obligation to their constituents, to represent the public interests and support the electorally expressed demands of the public.
Governor Newsom either fails to understand the role of democracy in this Constitutional Republic, or is estranged from the truth. Once again, the people have spoken through a democratic act on this critical issue. But the governor does not care for the outcome so he profoundly and almost pathologically rejects it, ignoring his oath of office.
If these elected officials who have taken an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United Sates of America, and the State of California succeed in their blatant usurpation of democracy, the 2026 midterm election will likely result in California having only four of fifty-two House seats, approximately nine percent, while nearly forty percent of California voters voted Republican in the last election. Democracy, Governor Newsom?
Governors, attorneys general, and legislators in California have historically engaged in misleading propositions with wholly disingenuous Title and Summary language intended to dupe the voters to an unwanted and often destructive course of action. Gerrymandering for raw political power against the clearly expressed will of the people is not consistent with the expectations of representative government or the fundamentals of a Constitutional Republic.
Make no mistake, this is not simple a creative way to silence many Californians, it is a disgraceful collaboration to reject the twice expressed democratic will of the voters of the state of California.
As good citizens, we have an obligation to inform ourselves and vote wisely. I urge you to join the Legue of Women Voters and other responsible Californians and reject this partisan affront to democracy.
-John McGinness