Letters: Gov. Newsom contradicts himself with Prop. 50

"Proposition 50, Gov. Newsom's current gerrymander proposal, is deeply schizophrenic in that, on the one hand, it urges our nation to adopt fair, independent, and nonpartisan redistricting commissions but, on the other hand, it replaces the congressional district maps, which were drawn by our own state's independent commission, with maps drawn by the partisan politicians in Sacramento. In other words, Newsom is telling America: Do as I say, not as I do."

"In addition, Newsom's proposed district maps, which resemble Rorschach Tests, are delusional because they ignore the reality that the Democrats already hold 43 (82%) of our state's 52 seats in Congress. In Texas, the Republicans hold only 25 (65%) of that state's 38 seats in Congress. Rather than engaging in these partisan shenanigans, our governor should focus on our state's chronic homelessness, crime, wildfire, deficit and education problems."

"Texas voters do not register by party. According to the Texas Independent Voter Project, nearly 47% of Texas voters vote for the Democratic candidate when they participate in a partisan primary. Texas currently has 37 congressional seats. Of those, Republicans hold 25, and they would like to increase that to 30. This means they want to increase the seats from 68% to 81%."

Proposition 50 would replace congressional maps drawn by California's independent commission with maps drawn by partisan politicians in Sacramento. Critics call the measure hypocritical because it promotes independent redistricting nationally while imposing partisan maps at home. The proposed maps are described as ignoring that Democrats already hold 43 of California's 52 seats, while Texas Republicans hold a smaller proportion of their state's seats. Opponents urge the governor to address homelessness, crime, wildfire, budget deficits and education instead of pursuing partisan map changes. Supporters argue Texas voting patterns and seat targets justify aggressive tactics and view Proposition 50 as a necessary countermeasure.

Read at www.mercurynews.com