Guest Commentary written by

Jeanne Raya

Jeanne Raya is the head of an insurance agency and lives in San Gabriel. She was the chair of California’s first independent redistricting commission.

In 2008, the Voters First Act created California’s Citizens Redistricting Commission, an independent body consisting of people who reflect the state’s diversity. Good government groups pushed the ballot measure forward, seeking to make sure voters were put first. I served on the first commission two years later.

Voter approval of an independent commission effectively ended the backroom political gerrymandering that characterized redistricting in California for decades. 

Commission members drew new maps with full transparency, giving citizens access to more than 100 public meetings and different ways to submit written comments. Voters could describe their communities, their environment, their infrastructure and their economy, so the commission could create districts giving them a fair chance at electing accountable representatives.  

Drawing fair maps was a challenging yet rewarding experience that took nearly a year to complete. Now California’s commission is considered the gold standard for redistricting, free of partisan self-interest and conducted fully in public view.  

If only Texas could learn from California. There, legislators’ current attempt to rig the 2026 election in favor of Republicans — at the behest of President Donald Trump — represents the basest self-interest of officials so fearful of losing power, all they can think to do is cheat. 

Their determination to stack the congressional deck prompted Gov. Gavin Newsom to threaten retaliatory mid-cycle redistricting in California, to elect more Democrats. He proposes sidelining the independent commission and holding a special election to approve new maps drawn by legislators “just this once.”  

As a registered Democrat, I would celebrate replacing members of Congress who have forgotten their oath to serve constituents and protect the Constitution. But it can’t be at the expense of California’s Constitution — nor its voters, who mandated fair, nonpartisan redistricting.  

Newsom says the threat by Texas Republicans calls for a retaliatory strike. We witness daily the chaos and mistrust created by revenge politics in Washington. That is not the model of responsible government Californians deserve. It’s not worth us expending millions of taxpayer dollars to gamble that different congressional districts will produce the sought-after change. 

Does the governor want to risk losing incumbents in more competitive districts or failing to elect the magic number of Democrats needed to win this electoral war against Texas — and who knows how many other red states?  

Newsom says if the American people are given a fair chance, a voice and a choice, Democrats can take back Congress. In California, the people already have that chance — it’s the independent redistricting commission.  

We know that maps are already being drawn in California while Newsom waits for Texas to pull the trigger. But maybe he should consider a different response to redistricting warfare. 

Rep. Kevin Kiley proposed legislation to ban mid-decade redistricting nationwide. I don’t know what brought Kiley, a Placer County Republican, to this moment, but considering a national solution to a national problem would be a welcome undertaking.  

Californians should demand that Newsom and legislative leaders respect the will of the people and not sacrifice the independent redistricting commission, nor the state’s limited financial resources, for short-term political gain.