Commentary: They worked hard to draw fair political maps. How do they feel about Newsom undoing them?

""I got to witness democracy at its core," said Sinay, 58, who lives in Encinitas and works as a consultant in the world of nonprofits."

""There were 14 very diverse people who came at this work from different backgrounds," she said. "Some may have known more than others about redistricting. But by the end we were all experts and focused on the same thing, which was creating fair maps for the people of California.""

""I think what President Trump requested is absolutely abhorrent. I think that Texas doing this is absolutely abhorrent," Sinay said. "I do not support the actions of the current administration. I think that their actions are absolutely dangerous and scary.""

""There are too many people right now that are hurting that could use that money in much better ways," Sinay said."

Patricia Sinay served on the California Citizens Redistricting Commission, which spent well over a year drawing the state’s political boundaries. The commission aimed to create fair congressional maps through a diverse, 14-person citizen panel. Voters will decide whether to scrap those citizen-drawn maps in favor of a new map described as a partisan gerrymander that could all but wipe out Republican representation in California’s congressional delegation. The proposed change is presented as a response to a Republican gerrymander in Texas backed by President Trump. Concerns include strategic retaliation, high special election costs, and competing public needs for funds.

Read at Los Angeles Times