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As California Democrats appear poised to put Gov. Gavin Newsom’s mid-census redistricting efforts on the ballot in November, some of their recent statements appeared to belie support for such a scheme.
Golden State Republicans, outnumbered 90-29 overall in Sacramento, hit back Tuesday with a list of recent statements Democrats made suggesting they could not see supporting any such plans – with some commenting as recently as July.
“Democratic legislators have also been crystal clear about their support for independent redistricting as recently as July,” Senate GOP lawmakers said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital.
“But in just a few weeks, a mysterious case of collective (and selective) amnesia seems to have set in. Let’s rewind the tape and hear them in their own words.”
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California Gov. Gavin Newsom gives a speech on redistricting. (REUTERS/Mike Blake)
During a state Senate Elections Committee hearing, Sen. Benjamin Allen, D-Santa Monica, spoke about the importance of redistricting commissions versus “incumbents draw[ing] their own lines.”
“I know there are some downsides. Of course, the devil’s in the details as to how these are established … I’m sensitive to the legislature just coming in big footing and trying to impose a particular model on a community…” Allen said in July.
“Politicians shouldn’t be drawing their own lines,” he also said in 2023.
Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria of Merced, who also spoke at the meeting on a county redistricting commission proposal in her district, said voters wanted a “more transparent… process” that gives them a “seat at the table.”
“I think that the State Redistricting Commission has been a good model in demonstrating that a process can work.”
“Since the establishment of California Statewide Citizens Redistricting Commission in 2008 by Proposition 11, California has taken numerous steps to put the responsibility for drawing California’s electoral districts in the hands of its citizens at every level of government. What has previously been a closed-door process in many parts of the state has been opened up to interested citizens…” Soria also said in her July 16 remarks.
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Speaking in 2023 during committee consideration of an ultimately-vetoed bill to create a format for county redistricting commissions, state Sen. Scott Wiener said “everyone should have to have an independent redistricting commission.”
“I agree that the commissioners should not be appointed by elected officials, which affects my city,” said the San Francisco lawmaker – who recently filed to run for Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s seat when she vacates it.
Across the Bay, state Sen. Jesse Arreguin of Berkeley commented in July that taking redistricting “out of the hands of an elected body… empowers residents to help draw lines and make the process more impartial.”
“Elected officials inherently have an interest in … drawing boundaries to effectuate their interests, whether intentional or not,” Arreguin said during a July hearing regarding the aforementioned legislation to create a redistricting commission for Merced County.
Assemb. Avelino Valencia, D-Culver City, added in 2023 that “independent citizen redistricting commissions help with fairness in the redistricting process and prevent the manipulation of district boundaries for political gain by elected officials.
Valencia said the commission increases transparency and prioritizes local input.
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California Republicans cited at least six other Democrats who previously sung the praises of independent commissions.
Newsom’s effort, which he announced at a press conference following an all-caps social media dig at President Donald Trump, would redistrict new maps based without the Citizens’ Redistricting Commission’s input for every election through the 2030 census – if voters so approve in November.
State Sen. Roger Niello, R-Rancho Contreras, said he at least stalled the process somewhat on Monday by indicating in a letter to the Senate’s secretary that he would withhold approval of unanimous consent requests for Tuesday’s legislative session.
“The majority party drafted new congressional districts behind closed doors with D.C.-based political operatives to undermine the work of California’s citizen-led commission in charge of redistricting,” Niello said in a statement.
“Politicians shouldn’t choose their voters.”
Additionally, Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton, a former Fox News host, is launching “legal war” against the redistricting plan.
