Editor’s note: The following is a letter to the editor. The opinions expressed in this letter are those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect those of The Mendocino Voice. If you would like to submit a letter to the editor feel free to write to info@mendovoice.com.
Dear Editor:
In her letter of October 14, Ms. Beardsley, recommending a “Yes” vote on Prop. 50, compiled a list of some 21 “policies” she asserts that Republicans endorse in supporting President Trump and his administration. It is very wide-ranging in its scope.
Unfortunately, it has some shortcomings. First, me thinks she paints with a very broad brush considering the varied opinions of six million California voters for President Trump in the 2024 election, many of whom may not agree with some of the “policies.” But secondly, and even more importantly, not a single one of her 21 allegations has even one example to support it. As such, they are just so many gusts of wind blowing through the trees. Regrettably, many lesser informed voters will be hoodwinked by them.
California’s Citizens Redistricting Commission has been described in the media and elsewhere as the “Gold Standard” that other states could follow when drawing voter district lines. If Proposition 50 passes, King Gavin and our Democrat-controlled legislature will have succeeded in practicing reverse alchemy — turning a Gold Standard into Iron Pyrite, “Fool’s Gold.”
Let’s keep the Gold Standard in the Golden State. California for Californians. Vote No on Proposition 50.
Stan Anderson
Fort Bragg
“Unfortunately, it has some shortcomings.” – Charles Munger dropping $30 million / a Republican backer who cares about everyone’s right to vote….right.
Caring about American citizens right to vote over illegal foreigners right to vote in America is absolutely necessary.
I am in agreement with the person that wrote this article. We need to all vote no on Prop 50! I continue to hear people from the area here about how they’re voting yes and then I asked them if they have actually read the whole bill. Not a single one said that they had they made me just heard about prop 50 on our television and on the internet that was put out by the politicians here in California. There are so many lies that they’re spreading wanting people to believe about all of this. We never ever ever want the politicians to draw our Maps! How anyone can be so lost that they don’t know this is beyond me. We voted years ago to not let the politicians get their hands in this because they corrupt it every time they’ve had it. Please don’t listen to the politicians! Read the whole bill before you sign your name and decide what your voting for. I think it’s time you all actually checked the facts of things and voted your mind and not the politicians Minds. They do not have your best interest at heart!
I don’t think anybody’s noticing the usage of the word temporary in this bill.
It’s literally being utilized so Gavin can stay in power because he knows he’s not going to win presidency since the entire country hates his stupid greasy-haired car salesman ass.
After he finishes what he needs to get done it’s going to be disbanded and he’s going to leave with whoever he wanted appointed next.
I am reluctantly supporting the passage of Proposition 50 though like the letter featured in today’s issue by Stan Anderson I see California’s past redistricting as approaching the “gold standard” and I see Newsom as a self-serving corporate Democrat. The authoritarian overreach of the Trump administration is something we need to use every tool available to fight back against. Vote yes on Prop. 50!
“Plenty of California cities are split in both maps because the state constitution requires independent map-drawers to consider not just keeping cities and counties together but also “communities of interest,” which the law defines as “a contiguous population which shares common social and economic interests” that should be in one district to be represented fairly.
In any region that could mean everyone who sends their kids to the same school district, or everyone who works in farming, or everyone who relies on I-5 for their daily commute. But there’s no set definition of all communities of interest, so once you consider them, it becomes a matter of opinion how well each map represents Californians.
Prop. 50’s opponents have highlighted Lodi, a 66,000-person city north of Stockton currently represented in one congressional district that would be split among three districts under Prop. 50. The Lodi City Council opposes the measure.
Mitchell said the split stemmed from efforts to strengthen a northern Central Valley district for Democrats by moving in more voters from Stockton. The resulting shuffle forced Lodi residents to be split up, but also unified Antioch and Martinez residents into one district and Vacaville and Solano County together in another. All four of the latter cities and counties are split up under the current map.
“It’s a tradeoff,” he said. “You could have competing communities overlapping. Which one’s more important?”
But opponents say those tradeoffs should only be made with public input and without partisan goals. In deciding which cities, counties and communities to keep together or split up, 2021 independent redistricting commission member Patricia Sinay said the commission held numerous hearings and received tens of thousands of written comments.
“Saying one splits more than the other, it’s not that informative,” said Sinay, a Democrat who opposes Prop. 50. “What did the people want? What did the communities of interest ask for?”
That is all: https://calmatters.org/politics/2025/10/proposition-50-communities-split/