In conclusion
Though the majority were at the Capitol for an unrelated demonstration, conservative opponents dominated public comment at legislative hearings on Governor Gavin Newsom’s congressional redistricting plan.
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This week’s rapid passage of the partisan redistricting plan through the California Capitol felt like a divine appointment to some Republican voters who oppose it.
On Tuesday, thousands of people traveled by bus from Visalia, Riverside, and other places to Sacramento for a very different purpose. The highly active online leader of the Calvary Chapel megachurch in Chino Hills, Pastor Jack Hibbs, had summoned his followers to the Capitol to demonstrate against a bill that would increase the number of people who can care for a kid while their parents are being held by immigration officials.
Coincidentally, though, the Legislature also planned two hearings for that morning to move forward Governor Gavin Newsom’s contentious proposal, which calls on voters to reject the state’s independent redistricting panel and accept new congressional lines that are more Democratic-friendly. As news got out, scores of the flock flocked to the hallways outside the committee rooms, all exhausted and unhappy conservatives waiting for their allotted seconds to publicly condemn yet another humiliation imposed on them by California’s liberal leaders.
As she left the Assembly meeting, Judy Escobedo, a 64-year-old retired teacher from Visalia, told lawmakers that their naive attempt to overturn the redistricting panel made her want to return to Texas, saying, “They’ve been getting away with things for too long.” Because we want to pick our own politicians, we voted for that. Our politicians shouldn’t pick their constituents.
Escobedo, who attended the Hibbs event with her sisters, said that testifying against the redistricting proposal was the cherry on top. She remarked that someone had to take action, and I reasoned that I ought to be the one.
The Democratic supermajority in the Legislature is set to pass the proposal by the end of this week, despite strong resistance and even legal threats from California Republicans, who stand to lose more than half of their remaining congressional seats. Voters would then get their last say on the revised map on November 4th, when Newsom would call a special election.
At the hearings, a few supporters—the majority of whom were connected to organized labor—spoke in favor of what they say is an essential move to stop President Donald Trump from manipulating the results of the 2026 midterm elections. To strengthen the slim GOP majority in the US House of Representatives, Trump is putting pressure on Republican-led states nationwide to conduct an uncommon mid-decade redistricting.
During the Senate hearing, Riverside Democrat state senator Sabrina Certantes stated that we are in a time where we must address an existential threat. With the Trump Republicans using their hold on state governments as weapons against democracy, do you think Californians will unilaterally disarm themselves?
However, they were far outnumbered by the haphazard group of opponents, many of whom entered the line for public testimony straight from their rented buses.
Republicans feel unrepresented
In recent weeks, it seemed more and more certain, and some people were resigned that they would not stop it. In order to stop a similar gerrymandering attempt in Texas, Newsom has mobilized public support by making appearances alongside Democratic lawmakers who left the state.
David Bolog, a 55-year-old maintenance worker with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, stated, “I’m not changing these people’s minds.” He has been visiting the Capitol every week since the coronavirus pandemic to serve as a citizen lobbyist for right-wing organizations such as Moms For Liberty.
According to Bolog, we already feel incredibly underrepresented. Earlier in the morning, he was part of a small group of people outside the Senate hearing. Despite knowing that it won’t stop it, you still have to refuse.
Behind him, Maria Carrillo amused her five- and seven-year-old children. In order to get to Sacramento for the Hibbs rally, they departed Riverside about one in the morning. Carrillo, a 36-year-old homeschool instructor, intended to make her kids’ trip to the Capitol a field trip as well.
Carrillo, who sported a shirt advocating to prevent men from participating in girls’ sports, claimed that she had gotten politically active during the pandemic battles over mandated vaccinations and shutdowns, just like many other Californians. She wanted some of the millions of Trump supporters who backed the president’s agenda and will be denied the right to vote due to the new congressional lines to speak to Democratic leaders.
She expressed her wish that they will pay attention to the actual residents of these places who are impacted by these policies.
Rep. Kevin Kiley voters show up
El Dorado County Republicans gathered in a corner to watch the meeting, but they were reluctant to testify against a plan they were sure would be pushed through.
The club’s chair, Todd White of El Dorado Hills, stated, “We all know this is a farce anyway.”
The vice chair of the club, Doug Williams of South Lake Tahoe, stated that no one gains from a redistricting war. He claimed that Texas was being chased to the bottom of the barrel by California.
The Democrats’ design shifts El Dorado County, which was formerly a vast rural district near California’s eastern border and was represented by Rocklin Republican Rep. Kevin Kiley, to a new seat that extends from the more liberal Sacramento suburbs. Williams was worried that his mountain town’s problems—like being ready for wildfires and the dwindling supply of house insurance—would go unnoticed.
In reference to speculation that Newsom will shortly run for president, White stated, “This is only intended to benefit one person, and that is Gavin Newsom.” White claimed that the governor had made it all about himself by utilizing public funds to hold a special election.
Why isn’t he performing his duties? Heather Masten, the club treasurer, said. She deliberated for a while before entering the hearing to make a brief statement opposing it.
To repeat the process, the group then wandered across to the Assembly hearing.
White stated, “We’ll be here all day just being oppressed by the majority party.”
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