Gavin Newsom is trying to end the presidency of Donald Trump two years early with a plan to elect more Democrats to the House of Representatives. But voters might just hand him his head.
Gavin Newsom is going to war with the voters of California — and they might just hand him his head.
The ambitious governor of California says he is trying to end the presidency of Donald Trump two years early with a plan to elect more Democrats to the House of Representatives, offsetting a mid-decade redistricting in Texas. Newsom wants to call a special election to throw out the congressional maps drawn by the independent Citizens Redistricting Commission that voters established using the initiative power.
The initiative power in California goes back to 1911, when Republican Gov. Hiram Johnson said the people needed a way to deal with an indolent and corrupt legislature. He was half-governor, half-psychic.
In 2008, a majority of California voters were disgusted with incumbent politicians in Sacramento drawing self-serving district maps to guarantee their own re-election. Using the initiative power, voters revoked the legislature’s map-drawing authority for state offices in 2008 and for congressional districts in 2010. The two ballot measures, Propositions 11 and 20, empowered a California Citizens Redistricting Commission to draw the district lines free from the control of politicians and lobbyists.
One drawback to excluding everyone in politics from serving on the Citizens Redistricting Commission is that the 14-member panel is advised by consultants who work closely with everyone in politics.
