Letters
Simple truth is, Donald Trump put Prop. 50 on the ballot. The Nov. 4 statewide special election is being held in direct response to Trump’s attempt to avoid losing power over Congress in the 2026 mid-terms, when Democrats are expected to regain the House of Representatives. Texas and other Republican-led states are willing co-conspirators in this travesty, and Californians must fight to keep their fair share of representation.
In an ideal world we would ride out the current maps as they were drawn and adopted by the state’s independent redistricting commission. Prop. 50 leaves that same process in place for the maps that will be drawn following the 2030 U.S. Census.
Of note, the current maps aren’t perfect. You can see them in your voter information guide, along with the one-time maps that will be used for 2026 mid-term elections if Prop. 50 passes. Lake County would get a second congressional representative vs. only one, and that’s not a bad thing.
Let’s mess with Texas. We're bigger and better than they are. Fight to ensure the 2026 mid-terms are not locked up in advance. Put California back on the moral high ground, using Trump’s constant attempts to rig elections in his favor as a powerful argument to make independent redistricting the national law of the land.
Californians can and will beat Trump and Texas at their own wicked games. We didn’t start this fight, but we can end it in the most democratic way possible: a statewide election. Yes on Prop. 50.
Michael S. Green lives in Lakeport, California.
- Details
- Written by: Michael S. Green
I am voting YES on Proposition 50 to use my vote to say, in the strongest possible terms — NO MORE.
No more complicity in the guerrilla tactics being used to destroy the last vestiges of democracy in our beloved country.
No more voter fraud and manipulation.
No more pricing our most vulnerable citizens out of access to basic healthcare.
No more deploying federal troops in cities that neither need nor request them.
No more standing by as women lose the last vestiges of control over their own bodies — or their lives — because of someone else’s moral judgment.
No more dismissing science and replacing facts with conspiracy theories. Climate change is real.
No more refusing to share a tiny fraction of our nation’s immense wealth to fund life-saving global programs that build goodwill and stability — a far greater return on investment than endless wars (though less profitable for big corporations!).
And so many no mores.
I am voting for decency, for embracing our differences, and for restoring America’s role as a beacon of hope for millions around the world. That is the kind of world I want to hand over to my grandchildren.
This vote may well be our last chance — because if Proposition 50 fails, the likelihood of any truly free and fair elections in the future will be practically zero.
How hard is it to cast this important vote with so much at stake?
YES on 50 — help steer our nation back onto the road to democracy.
Gillian Parrillo lives in north Lakeport, California.
- Details
- Written by: Gillian Parrillo
How to resolve AdBlock issue?