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Following the approval of Governor Newsom's gerrymandering initiative in the legislature, State Senator Marie Alvarado-Gil (R-Jackson) denounced it as a blatant seat-stealing scheme by legislative Democrats.
"This power grab is purely driven by the governor’s presidential ambitions and not by what benefits Californians or the state itself," said Senator Alvarado-Gil. “Californians deserve a voice in how their districts are drawn, not backroom deal-making."
Senator Alvarado-Gil condemned the Governor’s plan to scrap the voter-approved Citizens Redistricting Commission’s map and replace it with one drawn behind closed doors with no public input. The scheme will also force a taxpayer-funded special election this November, costing as much as $250 million, to allow voters to approve the pre-determined partisan map.
While legislative democrats are claiming to be “transparent,” Senator Alvarado-Gil and legislative Republicans continue to call out the hypocrisy.
"We’ve witnessed the consequences of one-party control in California—escalating costs, underperforming schools, unsafe communities, and the erosion of our freedoms. Governor Newsom’s attempts to consolidate power by dismantling voter-protection safeguards threatens the foundation of our democracy. California belongs to its people, not to its politicians," Alvarado-Gil concluded.
Additional criticism came from Senate District 4 constituents, with one from Tuolumne County stating, "The process has been perverted. The citizens should be making these decisions!"
Another constituent from Calaveras County remarked, "Politicians taking power away from the people to give to politicians… the money spent on the special election should be going to other more important issues like education or countless other issues."