Democratic lawmakers in Bay Area ‘reluctantly’ support Newsom’s gerrymandering ploy

Gov Gavin Newsom wants California voters to gerrymander the state s congressional districts giving the Democrats a boost in the midterms but only if Republicans in Texas or other states do it first To disregard California s practice of independently crafting political maps to avoid partisan tilt Newsom s plan hinges on the compliance of lawmakers in the state Legislature which is dominated by members of his own party And so far it doesn t look likely that the governor will meet major resistance Democrats representing parts of the Bay Area say they re not thrilled at the idea of intentionally redistricting California to improve their standing in Congress but they ll go along with it to counter President Donald Trump s demands that Texas Republicans redraw political maps to gain an edge in Area state senators and assemblymembers appear poised to follow Senate President Mike McGuire and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas who have promised to carry out Newsom s plan I do not like it explained Assemblymember Patrick Ahrens a Democrat representing Silicon Valley The Republicans are spitting in the face of the Constitution right now and we need to defend that All options need to be on the table California voters in and with patronage from then-Gov Arnold Schwarzenegger the last Republican to hold the office approved creation of an independent bipartisan commission to draw state legislative and congressional districts after the census every years That ended in California the practice of gerrymandering in which a legislative majority creatively carves district boundaries to ensure they encompass a majority of voters from their party At least seven other states have similar rules As Trump faces what is expected to be a laborious midterm voting next year that could cost his Republicans control of Congress and stymie his agenda the president has argued that Democratic party gerrymandering has tilted representation in Democratic states and urged Texas and other Republican-led states to do the same California Republicans including Steve Hilton a GOP candidate for governor next year have argued the state s districts still favor Democrats Republicans hold just of the state s Congressional district seats while roughly of California voters cast ballots for Republican candidates statewide for president and U S Senate last November While Schwarzenegger opposed Trump he is also rejecting Newsom s redistricting plan saying two wrongs don t make a right And Republican Rep Kevin Kiley of Rocklin whose district is expected to be targeted by Newsom s plan has introduced a bill in Congress to prohibit mid-decade Congressional redistricting nationwide Lawmakers in the state Legislature will take up the issue when they return from the summer recess on Aug They ll be operating on a tight timeline to advance Newsom s plan The governor has required legislators to place a measure on the November ballot If approved by voters California would temporarily discard its current political maps which were drawn after the census by an independent redistricting commission made up of Democrats Republicans and unaffiliated residents Those maps would be replaced by congressional districts drawn by Democrats with the explicit goal of giving that party the advantage in Newsom s goal is to flip five seats in California at this time held by Republicans a tit-for-tat as Republicans in Texas attempt to gerrymander their own state at Trump s behest It s likely that no districts in the Bay Area would be radically altered because the region is dominated by Democrats It s unclear however which Republican districts would be re-drawn to flip them Ahrens commented leadership will make the draft maps constituents on Friday According to The Associated Press the affected Republicans are Reps Ken Calvert and Darrell Issa in Southern California Kiley in eastern California David Valadao in the San Joaquin Valley and Doug LaMalfa in Northern California Valadao s and Calvert s seats are particularly vulnerable and were key to Republicans ability to take control of the House in State Sen Dave Cortese a senior Democrat who represents San Jose reported Newsom and legislators aren t involved in crafting the partisan maps That s the work of the state s Democratic congressional delegation he disclosed A spokesperson for Rep Zoe Lofgren who leads that delegation did not respond to a request for comment Cortese noted he d reluctantly sponsorship a consensus map that Democratic incumbents in Congress can agree upon It s something that comes out of a Machiavellian world he declared Trump as usual kind of struck first I think there s particular justification to fight back A few other Democrats are waiting to say definitively Independent redistricting in California is an pivotal model for the nation Assemblymember Alex Lee of Fremont stated in a announcement The people of California are the only ones who can decide to suspend that and bring back gerrymandering to the state A spokesperson for Lee did not elaborate on his position and explained the assemblymember who chairs the Legislature s progressive caucus wasn t available for an interview Democrats hold super-majorities in both chambers of the Legislature which means Republicans will have limited options to thwart upcoming votes on the issue But James Gallagher the Republican minority leader in the House stated the GOP will have plenty of room to fight the gerrymandering campaign There will be lawsuits he revealed And at the ballot box I believe we can win David McCuan a political scientist at Sonoma State University mentioned it s a done deal that lawmakers will place the measure on the November ballot When they do so campaigning on both sides will be intense and attract national campaign contributions Total spending could top million he announced But with the ploy Democrats have detected a way to fight back against the Trump administration after months of searching for their voices he explained They can raise their profiles and Newsom who is jockeying for a realizable presidential run in gets to lead that McCuan explained For Democrats this allows them to catch lightning in a bottle he revealed Still Democrats say it brings them no ecstasy You go to war not because you want to fight mentioned former state Sen State Glazer who left office last year but because you need to fight