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COBB, Calif. — Community members had the chance to hear directly from their member of Congress and ask questions at a Thursday afternoon town hall in Cobb.
Congressman Mike Thompson, accompanied by his field representative, Luca Moretti, spent the day in Lake County on Thursday, meeting with constituents and agencies.
They started the day in Clearlake, taking part in the weekly Judges Breakfast and making stops along the way before arriving early Thursday afternoon at the Little Red Schoolhouse in Cobb for the "Coffee with our Congressman" event.
Thompson’s visit comes as California is about to head into a highly contested election season regarding Proposition 50.
Signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Aug. 21, the measure — also known as the Use of Legislative Congressional Redistricting Map Amendment or the Election Rigging Response Act — will be on the Nov. 4 ballot.
Newsom and state legislators are taking the measure to voters in response to the Texas redistricting measure which is seeking to increase Republican seats in that state.
California’s redistricting measure, if approved by voters, would see Thompson’s District 4 shift south, taking only a portion of southern Lake County along with parts of Napa and Sonoma counties, and the southern Sacramento Valley.
The northern part of Lake County would be wound into a new District 1, which also would include parts of Mendocino and Sonoma counties, Glenn, Tehama, Butte, Plumas, Sierra and Lassen counties.
Congressman Doug LaMalfa, a Republican who has been in Congress since 2013, and with whom Thompson has worked on legislation, would be up against a Democratic challenger in the race for that seat, considered to be the most likely seat to flip to the Democrats. Thompson is confident that in that configuration, District 1 will indeed go to the Democrats.
As for who will run for the Democrats, Mike McGuire, Lake County’s representative in the State Senate, now serving as the Senate’s pro tem, is considered a front runner, but so far has not confirmed he’ll enter the race.
Thompson is an avowed believer in, and supporter of, independent non-partisan commissions that draw the lines for congressional districts.
In an interview before the town hall with veteran broadcaster Bill Groody and Lake County News, he said he believes such commissions should be used nationwide.
“I've always supported legislation to make that the law in all 50 states. I think every state should use that model and I am totally against mid-decade redistricting. The only reason you do that is for political reasons and that's what started us down the course we're on right now. The president of the United States called the governor of Texas and said, ‘Steal five seats. I want five more Republicans in Congress,’” Thompson said.
He said he thinks Newsom responded appropriately, and it’s a fight that has to be made. “As much as I don't like it, as much as I would like to keep what we have now, I think it's absolutely necessary for our republic and for our democracy,” Thompson said.
Later, during the town hall, Thompson explained that the razor-thin, three-seat majority the Republicans now hold in the House of Representatives — the thinnest margin between the two major parties since the Great Depression — is because North Carolina did its own mid-decade redistricting several years ago.
Fielding questions from constituents
About 80 people from around Lake County came to hear Thompson at the Thursday afternoon event, which lasted over an hour.
In addition to the matter of redistricting, topics raised by community members during the question and answer period included home insurance; affordability, including utilities; protecting the U.S. Constitution; the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s recent raid of the home of John Bolton, Trump’s former National Security Adviser who has become a vocal Trump critic; immigration and law enforcement; and protection of public lands.
One of the many concerns raised involved National Guard deployments, most recently in Washington, DC. Thompson pointed out that Trump has the power for such a deployment in Washington, DC, and while he’s using it now, he previously claimed he didn’t have the authority to do it when he’d been criticized for not deploying them during the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Veteran and Cobb-area resident Lance Giroux asked Thompson about posse comitatus, a reference to the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act which presents the use of the U.S. Army and Air Force for domestic law enforcement unless by an act of Congress or if authorized by the U.S. Constitution.
“To me, this is insane,” Giroux said of Trump’s use of the military.
Giroux also was concerned about immigration officers showing up wearing masks. Thompson said he has co-authored legislation to stop law enforcement from wearing masks, which is designed to instill fear and has a negative impact on local policing efforts.
Brenna Sullivan asked Thompson about the outsized impact of federal policy on rural areas and the likelihood of another attempted federal land sale.
Thompson said Sen. Mike Lee of Utah indicated he plans to make another attempt at selling off federal lands.
He also recalled his efforts to get the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument formed, which he said was a communitywide effort that ultimately came to fruition through President Barack Obama’s use of the Antiquities Act.
There also were questions about Lake County-specific issues, such as the proposed name change of the town of Kelseyville.
Jim Comisky, a longtime Lake County resident and retired Sonoma Valley Fire District battalion chief, asked Thompson about the name change matter.
The Board of Supervisors put the matter to all Lake County residents on the November ballot as Measure U. The final vote was 70.58% “no” versus 29.42% that supported the change.
However, the final decision will be up to the U.S. Board on Geographic Names.
“We need to get some closure,” said Comisky.
Thompson called up District 5 Supervisor Jessica Pyska, who was on hand at the town hall, to give an update. Pyska said the California Advisory Committee on Geographic Names needs to make a recommendation to the federal agency first, and that hasn’t happened yet, despite her asking them to do so.
David Becker asked what people can do to get others involved.
Thompson emphasized local political and community involvement.
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