Don’t let politicians rig California’s congressional maps – San Bernardino Sun

Sacramento’s political insiders want you to believe that California’s proposed redistricting overhaul is a bold stand against Texas’s recent redistricting efforts or Trump’s politics. The fact is, this has never been about Texas or the President. This is about Sacramento Democrats and political insiders grabbing power, plain and simple. Political elites have been waiting for an opportunity to redraw California’s Congressional Districts to increase power for years.

Over a decade ago, California voters sent a clear message: they didn’t want politicians drawing their own district lines. That’s why they passed Prop 11 and Prop 20, creating the Citizens Redistricting Commission. The goal was to take self-interest out of the redistricting process and return it to the people. While it’s not a perfect process, its transparency and accountability make it the best one available, and frankly, it has become the gold standard for redistricting in the nation.

But that’s exactly why it’s now under attack.

Legislative insiders have long resented the fact that they couldn’t control where and how lines are drawn. They have worked to quietly undermine the process, waiting for a moment to strike. That moment is now. We’re not witnessing a spontaneous response to a broken system; instead, it’s a carefully planned power grab that has been years in the making.

In recent months, there have been secret meetings, last-minute legislation, and rushed proposals jammed through the process in just four days. That’s not how you build trust, and it’s not reform. That’s a setup.

It’s no coincidence that this proposal puts redistricting power back into the hands of the very politicians whom voters sought to remove from the process. It’s the ultimate bait and switch: thank the public for their trust, then tell them to sit down while the political elite redraw the rules to benefit themselves.

Unlike other states where politicians can legally draw district lines, California’s Redistricting Commission employs a process in which the lines are drawn in full public view by commissioners who are banned from running for office for a decade. That’s a critical safeguard. And it isn’t just the commissioners doing the work in a vacuum. Over the years, nonpartisan groups— along with hundreds of neighborhood organizations — have submitted letters, testified in hearings, and fought to make sure communities of interest were represented.

And the results speak for themselves. Since California adopted this commission, our Legislature has become more diverse and more representative of the state we serve. More women, Latinos, Asian Americans, and Black Californians have been elected to office than ever before. I’ll never forget the moment my daughter watched me be sworn into the Senate, where women now make up the majority. It was historic, powerful, and it only happened because Californians insisted on fair maps that reflect who we really are.

We know exactly what happens when politicians control redistricting: districts become safer for the political insiders, less competitive, and less responsive to the voters. If it were up to me, I’d make every district competitive so that elected officials actually earn their constituents’ votes. When I proposed that legislators be held to the same 10-year ban as commissioners if they wanted to draw the maps, politicians rejected it. This isn’t about fairness; this is about control.

This effort is being led by the same figures who fought the commission from day one and lost. But make no mistake, this is a blatant, unconstitutional attempt to seize power.