GOVERNATOR: Schwarzenegger calls out Gov. Newsom over redistricting push

4

Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) on Friday criticized Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and Democrats for backing Proposition 50, a measure that would bypass the state’s independent redistricting process and let the Legislature draw its own district maps ahead of next year’s elections.

“I think that prop 50 is a big scam, and the reason why I’m saying that is because it says that we should fight [President] Trump because he’s a threat to democracy,” Schwarzenegger said during a Friday appearance on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher. “But in the meantime, they want to go and tear up the Constitution in California, get rid of the independent commission that draws the district lines and take the power away from the people and give it back to the politicians.”

Schwarzenegger, who was governor in 2010 when California created the Citizens Redistricting Commission, noted that the independent panel redraws congressional districts every decade based on Census data. He contrasted that with Texas lawmakers’ recent move to bypass the normal Census process and approve new maps, adding another Republican House seat.

Schwarzenegger said California’s independent redistricting has led to “much better” political performance and warned that changing the process would “take away the power” from voters, reiterating remarks he made earlier this year.

“I’m a Republican, but I’m not a Republican hack. I’m not a political hack. I don’t serve the party,” he told Maher. “I always serve the people, the people of first, we cannot undo something and rip away the power that the people in California have and give it back to the politicians. We fought there for too long.”

Newsom has championed Proposition 50, which is backed by prominent Democrats, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and former President Obama.

“Californians have been uniquely targeted by the Trump Administration, and thanks to the hard work of the California legislature, they will have a choice to fight back — and bring much needed accountability to Trump’s efforts to undermine the democratic process,” he said in a late August statement.

CLICK HERE FOR COMMENTS SECTION