BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) \u2014 The future of California\u2019s congressional maps \u2014 and who gets to draw them \u2014 will be in voters\u2019 hands this November. Proposition 50 would temporarily change the state\u2019s redistricting process, allowing California\u2019s governor and Legislature to adopt new congressional boundaries before the next election cycle.<\/p>\n
If approved, those maps would remain in effect through 2030 before returning to the state\u2019s Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission. Supporters say the proposal is a necessary response to partisan gerrymandering in other states, such as Texas. Opponents argue it undermines reforms voters enacted to keep politics out of the process.<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo wrongs don\u2019t make a right,\u201d said Rep. David Valadao (R\u2013Hanford). \u201cWhat\u2019s going on across the country with all the gerrymandering is wrong. It\u2019s bad for governance and bad for voters.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to the Legislative Analyst\u2019s Office, Proposition 50 would shift district boundaries across California, including in the Central Valley. Under the proposed maps, the 22nd Congressional District \u2014 currently represented by Valadao \u2014 would expand west into Fresno County, while parts of Kings and Tulare counties would move into neighboring districts.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you get your job by only talking to one side, you\u2019ll think the only way to keep your job is to keep talking to that same side,\u201d Valadao said, emphasizing his focus on bipartisan representation.<\/p>\n
Democratic challenger Randy Villegas, who is running for the same seat, supports the measure, saying it gives voters\u2014not politicians\u2014the final say.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnlike in Texas, where politicians decided to draw those lines without consent of the voters, here in California we\u2019re actually asking voters for that consent,\u201d Villegas said. \u201cAnd the process would return to the independent commission in 2030.\u201d<\/p>\n
Republican Rep. Vince Fong (R\u2013Bakersfield) opposes the initiative, arguing it would undo voter-approved safeguards from more than a decade ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat the governor is doing is carving up those communities and blending them into urban centers, so the urban vote gets more power and the rural representatives get eliminated \u2014 and that\u2019s not right,\u201d Fong said.<\/p>\n
Fong warned that linking agricultural regions with urban areas could weaken local influence over water and farming policy. Villegas countered that it would strengthen representation for working families.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need representation here in the Central Valley from people who understand what working families are experiencing \u2014 people working multiple jobs to make ends meet,\u201d Villegas said.<\/p>\n
Fong responded, \u201cThis is all a power grab by Sacramento politicians \u2014 taking communities and carving them up so their voices will never be heard in Congress.\u201d<\/p>\n
Valadao said he isn\u2019t concerned about how the proposition might affect his re-election chances.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been elected in a Democrat +17 district before. We\u2019re now at a Democrat +11, and this would put me back at about a Democrat +17 again,\u201d he said. \u201cSo it\u2019s not unwinnable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Villegas framed the issue more broadly: \u201cThis isn\u2019t just about California or one district \u2014 it\u2019s about whether we\u2019re going to sit on the sidelines as other states try to rig the system against us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Assemblywoman Jasmeet Bains, also running for the 22nd District seat, declined an interview but has previously said she opposes bypassing the state\u2019s independent redistricting process and voted against fast-tracking Proposition 50 to the ballot.<\/p>\n
Proposition 50 will appear on the ballot in California\u2019s special election this November.<\/p>\n
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