Sacramento Report: Newsom Puts Issa’s District in the Blast Zone

For five years, Rep. Darrell Issa has held the only reliably red congressional seat in San Diego County. Newsom’s plan to redraw California’s voting districts could upend that. 

Gov. Gavin Newsom is proposing what lawmakers are calling an emergency redistricting plan for California, aimed at turning at least five red congressional seats blue. Issa’s seat is one of those targets. A Politico report cited leaked charts showing that his district could shift it from a safe Republican district to one that leans Democratic. 

Newsom pitched the redistricting proposal after Texas began redrawing its political lines to eliminate five Democratic seats. President Donald Trump is pushing the Texas plan with Gov. Greg Abbott to bolster the GOP’s House majority in next year’s midterm election, by skewing voting districts in Republicans’ favor. 

“Today is liberation day in the state of California,” Newsom said at a press conference in Los Angeles Thursday to announce the redistricting measure. “Donald Trump, you have poked the bear. And we will fight back.” 

I reached out to Issa’s office by phone and email but didn’t hear back.  He hasn’t spoken to me since he told me the San Diego Union-Tribune’s editorial board “cancelled” him.  

Issa has served in Congress since 2001, starting with two North County districts. In 2018 he announced that he would not seek reelection to the House, but in 2020 he returned to politics to win a seat in an East County district. He has held it since, even after the district’s number and boundaries changed in California’s 2021 redistricting effort. 

During his tenure Issa has been a polarizing figure. He led an investigation into the 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, berated Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton, and refused to certify the 2020 election results after Trump’s false claims of a stolen election. 

That earned him praise from the right and animosity from liberals, and probably helped make his seat an object of California’s redistricting.  

On Monday Newsom sent Trump a letter with an ultimatum to call off the Texas plan, vowing to “fight fire with fire” by adding blue seats in California. For days, he has trolled Trump on X with all-caps messages mocking Trump’s bombastic style. 

“DONALD TRUMP, THE LOWEST POLLING PRESIDENT IN RECENT HISTORY, THIS IS YOUR SECOND-TO-LAST WARNING!!! (THE NEXT ONE IS THE LAST ONE!). STAND DOWN NOW OR CALIFORNIA WILL COUNTER-STRIKE (LEGALLY!) TO DESTROY YOUR ILLEGAL CROOKED MAPS IN RED STATES. PRESS CONFERENCE COMING — HOSTED BY AMERICA’S FAVORITE GOVERNOR, GAVIN NEWSOM. FINAL WARNING NEXT. YOU WON’T LIKE IT!!! THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER.” 

But California’s bid to redraw maps won’t be simple. Unlike Texas, where the legislature sets political boundaries, California relies on an independent redistricting commission to draw voting lines. 

To circumvent that, Newsom will ask voters to approve new maps in November that would remain in place through 2030. After that the state would go back to the independent commission to draw political lines. Newsom didn’t say when the new maps would be released, but his office said the legislature is handling them. 

CalMatters Dan Walters argues that the redistricting plan could draw legal challenges, or backfire by weakening Democrats in purple districts. But the Politico reports showed that the changes aim to not only shift some districts from red to blue, but also shore up some less secure Democratic districts. 

Republican lawmakers in San Diego were outraged. Assemblymember Carl DeMaio fumed about the plan and stated on social media that he’s leading an effort against Newsom’s “corrupt scheme to DESTROY California’s independent redistricting process.” In a fundraising email he told supporters he plans to file a lawsuit within 10 days to challenge Newsom’s plan. 

I reached out to DeMaio to get more details on how he wants to fight the ballot measure, but he would not comment for Voice of San Diego. 

State Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones attributed the redistricting move to Newsom’s ambition, declaring on X that “Democracy is dead in California, killed by Newsom’s corrupt pursuit of the presidency.” 

Democratic lawmakers drew a distinction between California’s and Texas’ redistricting plans, noting that California’s new plan won’t happen if Texas drops its plan to add red seats. 

“We cannot unilaterally disarm,” Newsom said. 

They also point out that California voters will have to approve new maps, unlike in Texas where the legislature can pass them without voter input. And California would return to its independent commission after 2030. 

“If we’re not all playing by the same good rules, the next best option is that we can at least play by the same rules,” Rep. Sara Jacobs said in a video on X.  

Toni Atkins Has a Problem with her Governor Campaign: Her Spouse’s Businesses

Former State Senator Toni Atkins announced her candidacy for California governor at the San Diego Air & Space Museum last year, drawing hundreds of admiring supporters. 

But as the race gains speed before the 2026 election, she’ll have to contend with conflicts of interest, CalMatters reported. If elected governor, she would oversee a state contract that puts money in her own pocket. 

Her spouse Jennifer LeSar, owns a consulting firm that the state hired to help prioritize sites, conduct market research and evaluate applications from contractors.  And nearly half of the major clients last year at LeSar’s companies employed lobbyists to influence government policy. 

It’s not the first time the couple’s political and financial interests have raised eyebrows. Last year Politico investigated a $22,500 payment from Atkins’ campaign to the Global Policy Leadership Academy, where LeSar was CEO and sole shareholder, for a trip to Vienna.  

Years earlier the San Diego Union-Tribune reported that Atkins sponsored a bill to hike fees to pay for affordable housing, which could benefit LeSar’s business in that industry.   

With Gas Prices Projected to Reach $8 per Gallon, California Leaders Try to Win Back Refineries 

California leaders are scrambling to squash projected gas price spikes as oil companies plan to close refineries over the next year. 

The Breakthrough Institute, a think tank that studies technological solutions to environmental issues, reported on lawmakers’ efforts to stave off problems that could hike gas prices up to $8 a gallon. And it looked at the regulatory history that led us here. 

It cited a recent assembly hearing where Assemblymember David Alvarez concluded: “We have a crisis on our hands that may be self-created.” Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris, also a Democrat, went further: “I know what climate leadership doesn’t look like and that’s $10 gas.” 

Newsom is also seeking to woo back oil companies, directing California Energy Commission Vice Chair Siva Gunda to do everything in his power to keep the state’s remaining refineries in business, the report stated. 

The Sacramento Report runs every Friday. Do you have tips, ideas or questions? Send them to me at deborah@voiceofsandiego.org. 

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