City Councilman Adrin Nazarian is surrounded by labor supporters and other City Council members outside City Hall Sept. 10 for a news conference in support of Proposition 50, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to redesign the state’s congressional districts. The action was taken to counter Republicans to redraw congressional districts in that state.
Courtesy photo
Wave Wire Services
LOS ANGELES — The City Council approved a resolution formally establishing the city’s position in support of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s redistricting plan, Proposition 50.
In a unanimous vote Sept. 10, council members threw their support behind the measure that aims to establish new congressional district maps for the 2026 election, which would also be in effect in 2028 and 2030.
Councilman Adrin Nazarian introduced the resolution Aug. 26.
Backers of Prop. 50 say it “draws fair maps that represent California’s diverse communities and ensure our voices aren’t silenced by Republican gerrymandering in other states,” according to the campaign in favor of the measure.
Opponents say Prop. 50 “creates one of the most extreme partisan gerrymanders in modern American history” and is a “threat to democracy and fair elections in California,” according to the campaign against the measure.
The redistricting effort comes in response to a similar undertaking by Texas legislators. President Donald Trump called on Republican-led states to undertake mid-decade redistricting to redraw congressional district maps in a manner that would benefit Republicans ahead of the midterm elections in 2026.
Other states such as Florida, Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, New Hampshire, Nebraska and South Carolina are also considering efforts to engage in mid-decade redistricting.
Prior to the council vote, Nazarian said the Trump administration “threatens not only our city, state and our people, but the very fabric of our nation from kidnapping hard-working community members in broad daylight to actively working to rig the 2026 midterms. The danger is real and unfolding before our eyes.
“We must send a message to this administration that California is strong, united and fearless in the face of autocracy, and we will be unrelenting in resisting these actions because if we allow them to rig our elections today, we wont’ have elections tomorrow,” Nazarian added.
Nazarian held a news conference prior to the vote to discuss the resolution alongside Council members Hugo Soto-Martinez, Monica Rodriguez, Eunisses Hernandez and Ysabel Jurado.
L.A. County Federation of Labor President Yvonne Wheeler joined city officials in solidarity.
Roxanne Hoge, chair of the Republic Party of Los Angeles County, described Prop. 50 as “opening Pandora’s box” during a Sept. 6 interview with Fox News Channel.
“If they pass it, they will have succeeded in unlocking that box. But the rest of the story is, of course, that you unleash the whirlwind,” Hoge told the station. “So there are other states in this country that will respond. But as for California, what’s going on is that Californians fundamentally don’t like unfairness, and that’s what Prop. 50 is.
“This isn’t even a partisan issue,” she added. “This is about things that make sense and don’t make sense, and if your community gets split into five difference congressional districts, that means that your community has no representation in Congress, and that’s what the Democrats are trying to do.”
