Local Republican elected officials across Orange County are spearheading a series of city council resolutions opposing the statewide congressional redistricting efforts pushed by Democrats, most notably Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Just this past week, city council members in Newport Beach, Orange and Westminster all adopted separate resolutions opposing the upcoming special election
Irvine council members voted down a similar proposal along party lines.
This November, voters across California will decide whether or not to temporarily adopt a map drawn by state legislators that could give Democrats the chance for easier elections in five seats on the House of Representatives.
Democrats across the Golden State say the special election on Proposition 50 is needed to balance out a push in Texas to redraw Congressional boundaries to gain more Republican seats in the House of Representatives.
Congressional maps are typically redrawn at the end of every decade when new U.S. Census statistics are released.
Local Republican leaders say the move obliterates the independent redistricting committee created in 2010 that stripped state legislators of the ability to draw the election maps.
Is a Lawsuit Coming?
Huntington Beach City Council members – all Republican – are preparing to launch another lawsuit against the state – this time over the special election.
Council members are expected to vote on a resolution condemning the special election on Proposition 50 at their 6 p.m. meeting tonight.
“Voters in our state deliberately created an independent redistricting commission and enshrined it in our constitution,” Huntington Beach City Councilwoman Gracey Van Der Mark said at the Sept. 2 council meeting.
“That safeguard was meant to ensure politicians could never again manipulate district lines for their own advantage,” Van Der Mark said.
Van Der Mark and her colleagues unanimously voted to draw up a resolution to oppose the redistricting efforts and Mayor Pat Burns pushed to sue the Golden State over the issue.
“I will second that but also add that we ask the city attorney to look into legal action against Newsom and his administration,” Burns said.
“He himself has admitted that it is wrong. He has said what Texas did was wrong but two wrongs make a right in this case – boy, he is saying I’m going to justify because somebody else did it,” he said.
Democrats: A Response to Texas
Officials like Newsom say the push for redistricting is a necessary response to efforts in Texas, where state legislators there adopted a Congressional district map that could make it easier for Republicans to win five more seats in the U.S. House, according to the Texas Tribune.
“We got here because the President of the United States is struggling … we got here because he (President Donald Trump) recognizes he will lose the election. Congress will go back into the hands of the Democratic Party next November,” Newsom said at a news conference earlier this month.
“Across the board, he is failing. He recognized that, so that’s why he made a phone call to Greg Abbot asking for five seats,” he said.
The upcoming Nov. 4 special election asks voters if they want to temporarily adopt a map drawn up by state legislators until the end of the decade, according to ballot material filed to the California Secretary of State.
After 2030, the independent redistricting commission is supposed to resume its work and draft up new voting maps, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office.
At the Aug. 26 council meeting, Newport Beach Mayor Joe Stapleton successfully called upon his colleagues to bring a resolution back that opposes “any attempt to bypass California’s independent citizens redistricting commission by altering the state’s congressional districts through a ballot measure and special election.”
Newport City Council members adopted the resolution without discussion at their Sept. 9 meeting.
The next day, Westminster City Council adopted a similar resolution, with Councilman Carlos Manzo, a Democrat, voting against the move.
“These are not issues that we should be bringing to our city council and I put that on my colleagues who voted for this item to be put on our agenda,” Manzo said at the Sept. 10 meeting.
He also said his colleagues should voice their concerns to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott about preemptively redrawing congressional districts to gain more seats for Republicans.
“Write that same letter to the Texas governor because that’s exactly what he’s doing.”
Westminster City Councilwoman Amy Phan West questioned how that impacts California
“Texas did what Texas do,” Phan West said. “How does that affect California?”
Like many of her Republican colleagues throughout Orange County, Phan West pointed to California’s independent redistricting commission.
“We’re trying to defend the right of the voice of the people”
Some OC Councils Fracture on the Issue
In Orange, city council members adopted a resolution opposing the redistricting move on a 4-3 vote, with Councilwomen Arianna Barrios and Ana Gutierrez dissenting, along with Mayor Dan Slater.
“The City Council of the City of Orange believes that Proposition 50 undermines the voter-approved framework for fair redistricting in California,” reads the resolution.
Councilman Denis Bilodeau – who sponsored the resolution – argued that framework should remain in place, and that redrawing the maps would increase partisan divides.
“The maps were fair,” said Bilodeau, a Republican. “I believe we should continue to follow the maps that were independently drawn by them and not who knows who.”
Barrios and Gutierrez criticized Bilodeau for voting against their earlier proposal calling out federal immigration officers for stopping residents on the street, with Gutierrez calling it “insulting” that he argued against intervening there, but wants to speak up on redistricting.
[Read: Orange Backs Off Trying to Unmask ICE]
“The resolution you’re bringing has nothing to do with the safety of our residents here in Orange,” said Gutierrez, who isn’t registered to a political party. “We need to stay out of it, just like you all said before.”
Barrios – whose 2022 campaign was endorsed by both individual Democrats and Republicans, but not the parties – called the resolution a “purely political action” and compared ICE’s action on the streets to Apocalypse Now.
“There is just something wrong with that,” Barrios said. “I will absolutely vote no for this.”
Mayor Slater – who, like Barrios, had bipartisan endorsements in his 2022 campaign, but no official backing of a political party – also voted against the proposal, noting he was against putting any influence on the voters.
Meanwhile, Irvine City Councilman Mike Carroll’s push to condemn the upcoming special election failed to gain traction.
Carroll, a Republican, didn’t get enough support from his Democrat council colleagues who make up a majority on that city council.
“I’m not seeking to politicize it, as much as I’m seeking to bring forward the idea that California and in particular our city was pleased with the results of the independent redistricting commission set up by the process that was led by Common Cause and others many years ago,” Carroll said at the Sept. 9 meeting.
Irvine Councilmember James Mai, also a Republican, was the only other council member to vote alongside Carroll.
Mai said moves like early redistricting weakens voters’ trust.
“The term gerrymandering, no matter which party benefits, undermines democracy and really erodes public trust. This isn’t about Democrats or Republicans, it’s about whether politicians should be allowed to pick their voters and voters should always have the right to pick their politicians.”
Correction: A previous version of this story stated Ana Gutierrez was a registered Democrat. She’s a no party preference voter. We regret the error.
Reporter Angelina Hicks contributed to this story.
Spencer Custodio is the civic editor. You can reach him at scustodio@voiceofoc.org. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerCustodio.
Noah Biesiada is a Voice of OC reporter. Contact him at nbiesiada@voiceofoc.org.