Newsom’s obscene $250M redistricting proves the urgent need for The California Post

Governor Gavin Newsom will soon almost certainly be celebrating the passage of Proposition 50, a referendum to cast aside the state’s “independent” congressional map in favor of one drawn by Democrats, for Democrats.

Prop 50 is certainly good for Newsom and his party, but it is bad for California. And it highlights the lack of political accountability in the once-Golden State, which suffers some of the worst governance in America.

Newsom sold Prop 50 to the electorate using the same tactics he deployed to survive the 2021 recall vote: he told Democrats that if he lost, President Donald Trump and his supporters would win.

Prop 50 actually disenfranchises millions of Californians, but Newsom convinced his party’s voters that they would “defend democracy” by stripping most Republicans of their seats and helping Democrats retake the U.S. House.

To that end, Newsom spent more than $250 million of California taxpayers’ money — this in a state that has suffered large budget deficits for two years in a row.

(Republican Assemblyman Carl DeMaio of San Diego correctly predicted the cost — a pesky habit of his, which is why fellow politicians, mostly Democrats, voted him the “worst” legislator in Sacramento. For taxpayers and constituent interests, DeMaio is one of the best.)

Political donors spent at least that much money, with Newsom’s camp far outspending opponents of Prop 50, even with millions donated by moderate Republican Charles Munger, Jr. (Prop 50 was too far, even for “RINOs” like Munger and former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is no fan of Trump.)

That’s at least half a billion spent on a special election whose only purpose was to boost national Democratic Party fortunes.

Meanwhile, tens of thousands of residents of fire-ravaged Pacific Palisades, Altadena, and other areas affected by the Los Angeles fires remain displaced.

Many had lost their insurance before the fires — thanks to Newsom’s policies — and were forced onto the California FAIR (or “unfair”) plan. Many cannot make up the difference between insurance payouts and the cost of rebuilding. Many may be forced to sell, cheaply.

Half a billion dollars would help residents rebuild their homes — homes they lost, in part, due to the negligence of state and local officials, who failed to clear the brush, fill the reservoirs, and deploy the firefighters.

When Newsom vetoed SB 236, which would require the state to develop a wildfire mitigation plan, he said it would cost too much — up to $20 million per year. But he found the money for Prop 50.

The passage of Prop 50 is a sign that national politics have eclipsed state and local politics. We care more about who is running Washington than what is going on in our own backyards.

And the only reason that is possible is that the California media, collectively, have failed to hold Newsom and other elected officials accountable. There is no outlet capable or projecting a statewide voice — until the California Post. Until now.

Prop 50 also represents the personal vanity of one man — Newsom — who has placed his presidential ambitions ahead of the state’s interests. He has launched outrageous personal attacks on the president, while still begging Congress and the administration to approve $40 billion in additional fire aid.

Of course, Trump is hostile to his political foes, but unlike Newsom, Trump actually gets things done for his voters.

Newsom cannot point to a single major accomplishment in nearly two terms as governor. He seems to think his primary responsibility is trolling Republicans in other states.

He has failed to build high-speed rail; his electric vehicle mandate was done in by weak sales before Trump took office; his billions in spending on homelessness has made the problem worse. California also leads the nation in poverty and unemployment.

Prop 50 represents Newsom’s gamble that Democratic Party primary voters care more about a candidate who fights Trump than a candidate who achieves results.

One can, in theory, do both: look at San Francisco mayor Daniel Lurie, who convinced Trump to cancel a “surge” of federal law enforcement to the city. Lurie didn’t call Trump names, or attack him directly. He opposed Trump’s policy, but spoke to him personally.

That is how principled opposition is meant to be practiced. Newsom has abandoned that approach for a caricature of what Democrats believe Trump to be: mean, selfish, and dishonest.

It takes a special kind of duplicity to claim that “saving democracy” means eliminating the opposition party’s ability to compete fairly for representation, or to override the voters’ own past verdict in favor of independent redistricting.

Newsom claims he is not canceling the independent commission, but merely setting it aside until the next Census — or elevating it, pushing for some kind of national independent redistricting commission.

That is perhaps the biggest lie of all, because he knows he is lying: such a commission would be unconstitutional, since district boundaries are reserved for states. It also has no chance of being accepted by either party.

Newsom’s lies are rarely challenged because he avoids opposition media; like the hapless former Rep. Katie Porter, who leads Democrats vying to replace him, he is used to obsequious deference from the press.

Prop 50 shows that democracy is in danger in California — and it is in danger because it has, until now, lacked accountability. This is a low point for the state. But with the California Post, the turnaround begins.

Joel Pollak is The California Post’s Opinion Editor. The California Post, a sister publication to The New York Post, will be launching early in 2026.