Gavin Newsom v. Alexandra Macedo, California Citizens Redistricting Commission

If anyone accused Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom of being bright and honest, they must've been high at the time. When it comes to integrity, he doesn't have it. In his latest anti-redistricting rant, Newsom argued that California's legislature has the authority to do the redistricting. They don't. After thje 2020 census, the redistricting was done by the California Citizens Redistricting Commission. That's the first strike against Gov. Newsom's redistricting plan. The other strike against Gov. Newsom is State Assemblywoman Alexandra Macedo of Tulare.

Assemblywoman Macedo is the Vice-Chair of the Assembly Elections Committee. Based on the little that I've read about Assemblywoman Macedo, she sounds like a fighter. The last thing I think about Gov. Newsom is that he's a fighter. He's a pretty boy. That's a natural mismatch.

Let's talk about the California Citizens Redistricting Commission. It wasn't created by the legislature so the legislature can't get around it. It was voted on by the citizens of California. Now it's part of California's constitution. Further, it's a miscalculation by Gov. Newsom if he thinks he can ignore the Commission. It's virtually guaranteed that Assemblywoman Macedo will file a lawsuit stopping the legislative redistricting. The thing Gov. Newsom doesn't have is time. If California is like other blue states, that means early votinng starts in 13-14 months.

By the time the appeals are exhausted, it'll be too late to implement a new redistricting map. After Gov. Newsom's first presser on redistricting, Assemblywoman Macedo issued this statement. In the statement, she said "Governor Newsom’s redistricting scheme sets a dangerous precedent that will collapse the foundational principles of democracy into a zero-sum game of power politics. Governor Newsom is thumbing his nose at the voters who created the California Citizens Redistricting Commission, not once, but twice. His disregard for the voters’ will is an alarming abuse of power that will cost the state at least $200 million when many Californians are without clean, reliable water or access to adequate health care. In a democracy, the power is with the people, not politicians. Otherwise, the public rightfully loses faith in our institutions, elected officials and system of governance."

In the early days of President Obama's presidency, he famously said "elections have consequences." Apparently, Gov. Newsom thinks that elections have consequences for Republicans but not for Democrats. When interviewed about Gov. Newsom's redistricting plan, this is what Assemblywoman Macedo said:

In her other statement on Gov. Newsom's redistricting plan, Assemblywoman Macedo said this:

Following Governor Newsom’s staged announcement of his redistricting scheme, Vice Chair of the Assembly Committee on Elections Assemblywoman Alexandra Macedo (R-Tulare) issued the following statement:

"Californians demand and deserve transparncy from their government. Governor Newsom’s sinister redistricting scheme is the opposite. There is no public input.

"In his quest to grab national headlines, the Governor is proposing to dismiss the will of the voters. Governor Newsom is on a mission to take power away from the California Citizens Redistricting Commission.

"Governor Newsom’s power-grab erodes public trust in our government. Undermining the Commission’s hard work, to grab national headlines, is shortsighted and insulting to voters."

Again, Assemblywoman Macedo reminds Gov. Newsom that he's attempting to ignore the will of the people. Some partisans might ignore that but I'm betting that the US DOJ won't. Specifically, I'm betting that the DOJ's Civil Rights Division will have something to say in the matter. Once it gets into the courts, this attempt will hit one hurdle after another.

As I said earlier, time isn't on Gov. Newsom's side. Frankly, I think Gov. Newsom is doinng this for the publicity. I don't think he cares about redistricting.