After the Ashes: A Beautiful Altadena Podcast

Episode 12: Lines of Power –  A Redistricting Primer

• Shawna Dawson Beer • Season 1 • Episode 12

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After the firestorm of Episode 11, we’re slowing it down, but not letting up.

In this shorter episode we zoom out and take a look at Prop 50, what’s really at stake, and why redistricting — that seemingly dry, procedural word — is a power move. We’ll give you a quick, no-fluff primer on congressional districting in California, walk through a little history, and unpack why things aren’t always what they seem on the ballot, especially when there's this much money involved. 

Small Business shout out goes to one of our taco (and burrito) spots, Tacos 210, a longtime Altadena food truck favorite run by Omar de Anda Sanchez. Solid burritos, fish tacos, birria con consomme, and vegan and gluten-free options done right, plus a great feature on Omar and his escape from a burning Altadena on SF Gate a few months ago (shout out to Farley for that one). Find Tacos 210 on Fair Oaks just south of Ventura and follow @tacos_210 for the latest. 

SPEAKER_01:

Hey there. Welcome back to After the Ashes, a beautiful Altadena podcast. I'm your host, Steve, with Shauna.

SPEAKER_00:

Hello.

SPEAKER_01:

And we're here to talk about something that's been coming up recently on the uh the i in various conversations. We're gonna call it what, episode 12?

SPEAKER_00:

Lines of power, a redistricting primer. Um I like to call or aka a prop 50 quickie. That's what I like to call it, a prop 50 quickie.

SPEAKER_01:

Anyway.

SPEAKER_00:

Take it away, Professor Steve.

SPEAKER_01:

What what what what part would you want me to start with?

SPEAKER_00:

So I think, you know, the so uh because we've got a lot of questions about this. This keeps coming up, right? Uh this is not specifically Altadina, but it is absolutely policy, it is absolutely current. Um, I'm sure you've seen and been hit with multiple ads. You know, I have even friends, kids, teenagers on TikTok asking me, hey, what's Prop 50?

SPEAKER_01:

I had my own son know about it.

SPEAKER_00:

Right?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

So, in other words, a lot of money is being spent on this.

SPEAKER_01:

I think that the I read this morning on Politico the yes side has got spent$40 million more in ad buys than the no side.

SPEAKER_00:

Which takes me to a whole other conversation about everything that is wrong with politics in this country because they are all bought and paid for. There is no democracy when one party can buy out another.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, that's there that that's another conversation. I digress.

SPEAKER_00:

But you know, I think that what this has uh raised repeatedly um is that one, you know, the majority of us are Democrats here. You know, that that's who we are. I've heard that about California. That's right. It's our state, it's our it's our town, it's Altadena. You know, we lean left in a good way, in a positive way, not in a scary, oh my gosh, the liberals are coming to get me and and you know, make me do things I don't want to do. Um, but rather, you know, in a very, hey, we have very real ideals and morals and values that largely center around care and kindness and wanting everyone to be okay. Yeah. Right. I think that is kind of like if we were to sum up what it people feel.

SPEAKER_01:

Government is there to help us.

SPEAKER_00:

Correct. Now, all of that said, um the Democratic Party is heavily supporting Prop 50. And that is who is funding the yes on Prop 50 campaign. And so it's really easy to be like, hey, prop yes, Prop 50. But at the same time, you know, this one has come up so much because people don't necessarily understand it. Yes. On its face, we're like, well, Trump, bad. Red states redistricting to gerrymander, bad. Us doing the same thing to retaliate, good, like on its face, right? This is what people think. But I think that we don't necessarily understand history, context, what this actually means. Can you actually give us a little set the stage for us with a little bit on first of like what gerrymandering means? Because I've not I don't want to assume that anyone knows what gerrymandering is. What has happened in some of the red states already that precipitated this and got us here? Like, how do we get here?

SPEAKER_01:

How we got here. So, what's happened? So, gerrymandering is where you draw the districts, a congressional district. So each state gets a certain number of congressional districts which ties back to their electoral college votes. So in California, I think we have 52 congressional districts and we have 52 electoral college votes. And each of those districts has a boundary that's drawn in a certain way. Now, in some states, there are districts that are drawn by legislatures. Other states, they have independent commissions. And what they what everybody tries to do, whether you're Democrat or Republican, is you try to draw those districts, at least where you don't have an independent commission, and some will argue even with an independent commission, um, to be most favorable to the party in power. So it's an art form, really, uh in all honesty. And it there's a long history of it here in Los Angeles, or in in California, but Los Angeles in particular, and I think we'll get into that. But, you know, just at a very high level, it's this idea of other states are using their legislature to redraw the districts. Now, districts, here's the other piece. The other thing is that districts are typically based upon your population at the last census. So the last census we had was 2020, and the next one we're gonna have is 2030. And we lost seats in California in 2020, and we'll lose their expectations between two or three congressional seats are gonna be lost here in 2030 because our population is not growing as fast as places like Texas and Florida. Now, in certain states, there are lawsuits that occur based upon the constitutionality of the redistricting. Ohio, for one, has one that's going to be redistricted, and those districts are going to be redrawn in time for the 2026 election. North Carolina famously had it in 2024. Texas had allegedly a lawsuit that created the situation that they're redistricting and they had an opportunity to open up the redistricting, and the president decided to make a big example out of it and say, Texas, this is your chance. Redraw the lines that favor me. And in the process, the Texas legislature had redrawn it so that five districts went from being solidly Democrat to solidly Republican. And as a result, Gavin Newsom, our governor, has said, well, you know, if Trump did it, then we're gonna do it. We're gonna, we're gonna get rid of five of those seats. But to do so, we have to get past something called an independent commission, citizens commission, which was created in the wake of our redistricting drama that occurred throughout the, you know, the 1970s, 80s, and 90s. And in 2010, we put a new commission in, and that's what effectively acts as the determiner of what our congressional districts look like here in California. So we have to set that aside. The legislature passed the law that allowed him to put it on the ballot, which became Prop 50, which everybody's gonna vote for. And allegedly, it's going to be where we set it aside until 2030, and then after the 2030 election, it should revert back. But as we know in California, we should all be skeptical of opportunity where things should go back. Even Nancy Pelosi said the word should. And for somebody as well versed in language and politics as Nancy Pelosi to mention that, instead of will, there's a big difference between should and will. And that should be the first thing that people go, okay, hang on a second. And then the next piece is understanding the why we got here in the first place. Because if we go back to the way it was, it it may not be what people think. And the vast majority of Californians, based on polls, feel that this is okay if we're doing it temporarily. But our governor won't be here in 2020 or 2030. Many of our legislators probably won't. So is it going to revert back? Do you trust our government to do that? That is the first question you have to ask when looking at this issue.

SPEAKER_00:

So I think it's safe to assume you would vote no on Prop 50.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, because of the history of it and the reason why we are where we are.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

And, you know, I think the history is important. I'm a history major for those who read my Substack. I wrote a whole piece on the historical reasoning for why we have redistricting. And I think it's really important to understand the why we are where we are, because the Independent Commission was created because of the problems that we're trying. Because there was so much distortion and game playing and gerrymandering that we said, you know what? We're going to make it fair in California. And, you know, the question is, do we need to bring ourselves down to the level of the president and what the president's doing? I mean, it's a very simple issue as I teach my children. Two wrongs don't make a right.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. But in this case, if we do not, as I have said repeatedly, you know, we have to meet them. How I don't even want to say this. Most We had this great Michelle Obama quote, right? Yeah. They they go low and we go high, right? But we can't. Like, and I've said this repeatedly, like, we can't, we're not fighting on the same playing field. They're they're fighting with nukes and we we're fighting with toy guns. Here's the thing. At some point we have to do what they're doing, Steve.

SPEAKER_01:

No, but you're not, because here's the first problem is that the numbers don't work in California's advantage overall. I mean, if you want to go strict for strict redistricting, there are more Republican states that can redistrict than Cal than Democratic states. So on a number for number basis, on paper, it's not going to work. The second issue that I have is that of the five districts that would be, quote, you know, redistricted out, at least three of those, the Democrats, if they ran the right candidates, could win. The problem for the Democrats is to get through the primaries, you have to tack far to the left because that's who's the base that votes in those primaries. And then when you get into a general, it's a lot tougher to run to the center where those districts are, where you can peel off some of those Republican voters that are not happy with Trump, because not every Republican is a Trump supporter.

SPEAKER_00:

To say the least. I think you have what I call, you know, the cult of MAGA. You have the incredibly disenfranchised Republican Party. Just as in many respects, you have the disenfranchised Democratic Party. Well, I think that a lot of us are feeling kind of like what's going on? Like the the everybody sucks.

SPEAKER_01:

And 25 to 30% of the population is independent, which means that they're up for grabs. And, you know, Gustavo Arolano and Mike Madrid have done some great, they had a great podcast on this about Latino voters, because the Latino voter is a huge portion of the swing in the state. And, you know, I think it's something that people need to understand that the problem for the Democratic Party is not the districting, it's the candidates. And I think that the right candidates can win. The problem is that their solution is let's move further to the left or let's redistrict it so it's safer so that we can move further to the left and make sure we don't have to worry about it, as opposed to potentially some other issues that go with it. So I mean it's a it's a nuanced problem that I think we're we're solving the you know, we're throwing the baby out with the bathwater here.

SPEAKER_00:

Uh yeah, no, I like I use that expression a lot, and I think I I get that. Um, so what I mean, this is my I'm gonna ask the question that everybody asked them then. What do we do? Are we just supposed to sit back and take that lay back? Like what do we do? I I think if not this, then what?

SPEAKER_01:

Well, I I don't think this is the right battle because it doesn't matter what you do. If you're doing it for five for five, Trump's gonna pick you up in Indiana and Missouri and other states. It's irrelevant. In Ohio, it's irrelevant what we're doing here. You gotta go fight an election. And to fight an election, you gotta get back to where the people are. You can't choose the voters, the voters choose you. And I think this is what's happened to our politics is that we become so entrenched in focus groups and talking points and not getting to the heart of the issue, which is get listen to what the voters want and give them what they are asking for. In California, the vast majority of voters are asking for good jobs, affordable living, and give me a house that I can live in and put my kids through school and let me have the things that I've been promised. And neither party has been good at achieving that, whether the Democrats have done it through tremendous amount of government or the Republicans who just say, you know what, we're just gonna walk aside and just, you know, it's gonna be up to the market to do it. It's not achieving what needs to happen here. And so what are we doing? We're just continuing to allow that deficiency to occur by allowing these redistricting games to be played, essentially. Look, I also think it's important to understand how we got here and why we have an independent commission or an independent citizens commission. Because the history of California, especially as we were growing, and we talked about this a little bit in the last sessions last week, is that when California was on the upward trajectory, like they said about that in in San Francisco, it was the Burton brothers, and in LA it was the Berman brothers. And they both controlled this discussion about how we would add all these people, and then the Democrats continue to add more uh more representatives than Republicans as the populations were growing. It's because they both figured out what the real true power in California was, which is redistricting and controlling the districts and controlling how those districts were drawn and how the candidates would fit those districts for which party they were with.

SPEAKER_00:

I think I've said this before, uh, I don't think on this podcast, but I've said it in our group and I've said it in conversations in our community, uh, because this has come up repeatedly, because you know, in the context of 782 in particular, which was very much heavily supported by Democratic uh electeds who most of us supported and voted for. And, you know, it's like, well, great, like who who's looking out for us? Like, if not our own party, who's looking out for us? But there's no accountability. There's no accountability. And um, you know, I I've I've anyhow, the thing I keep coming back to is that for me, what I I have kind of like one of the biggest lessons of the year and takeaways for me, again, is being someone who's, you know, absolutely a Democrat and a Democratic voter. Um feeling really disillusioned. I I don't have a better word for it. Really disillusioned that, you know, both parties suck. Um you know, our ideals and values are better, but our policy is just as it well, let me rephrase that. Our policy is wildly ineffective. The the scary part is Republican policy is on point because they've got, you know, you go look at Project 2025. Like they are not messing around. Um, they hit the ground running, knowing what they were going to do to dismantle the country's wealth and to funnel it to the top and to dismantle our democracy, and they have done a damn fine job of it, no matter what you think of them, and that um that is happening and it's happening very effectively, and it's fucking terrifying. But then, you know, on the flip side of that is like, well, who's looking out for us and who's fighting this fight? Nobody. There, it's like there's just no one, and yet we don't have an option to vote another way because then what? I mean, I the reality is the vote for even the an independent candidate, the vote for anything else, or worse, because so many are left as feeling apathetic in this situation and don't vote, and so why voter turnout remains at historic lows because people are like, what the fuck's the point? And it's hard to even argue with them. But we have to do something. But it can't be.

SPEAKER_01:

If you just step aside, they're just gonna continue to whittle away the democracy the way they are right now. And you know, I go back to the re you know, the really interesting thing to me was I remember, do you remember when the LA Times had the whole piece about the LA Fed and the tape leak, the leak tapes of Nuri Martinez?

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, yeah, and you know Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay, and that whole scandal. And that whole scandal. But, you know, everybody was talking about the racist quotes, which were offensive beyond all offense. And they didn't spare anybody. But at the heart of those conversations, it was redistricting. At the heart of that, it was about how they were gonna take Nithya Raman and her district in Silver Lake and make it so that she wasn't gonna win again. This is what people are forgetting is that that's that we're essentially creating that, we're we're going back to that model. Instead of having the independent commission, which for once, it's an issue in California that is agreed to by everybody that is actually effective. We created this model that works. And just because one man comes in and just because they the Democrats are gonna have to work to go get those seats, which they should get. I mean, what was it? Uh the guy up in um the Central Valley, Villalado or something like that, I can never say his name right. You know, he only won by a few hundred votes. You know, Ken Calvert won by less than a percent or two in his district.

SPEAKER_00:

Yep. I mean, we've seen some elections come down to like literally 20 votes. It's insane.

SPEAKER_01:

Uh but my point being, pick the right candidate. Go win the election. Don't try to rig it. What are you saying? Are you saying that you to me that's a sign of weakness, not strength. It says to me that you're incapable of going out and getting what needs to get done. And it's because what's what is the fundamental weakness here? And so what can't you get past? Just like why are you removing the protest feature in 782? Why do we need to do this? It's not necessary.

SPEAKER_00:

It's not necessary, and yet here we are. So Well, you you asked why I'm against it.

SPEAKER_01:

This is why I'm against it.

SPEAKER_00:

This is why. No, I get it. And um, I think you know, the takeaway for our listener, very frankly, bluntly, is that you've got to constantly read between the lines and follow the money.

SPEAKER_01:

But do you want to have to go try to get this back when in 2030? I get it. Look at measure A. It was supposed to be a temporary sales tax here in California so that we had the ability to build helmless housing.

SPEAKER_00:

I think everyone understands the minute you vote to approve more money, more taxation, or give away your veto. Correct. It's never coming back. No, it's never coming back. And this, you know, this is a nice way to wrap this short special episode because tying it back to 782, this is the issue with 782. We just gave away all the power and control to the county that's done such a fantastic job of being a steward of our dollars in our town. How do you think you're gonna get it back? You're not ever. So you better start to go get noisy right now. Like write those letters, make those phone calls, get noisy, be your own best advocate, or we are stuck with it forever. So, uh on that cheery note, uh, small business time.

SPEAKER_01:

You do your thing.

SPEAKER_00:

Let's talk about a small business. Um, I was gonna talk today about Tacos 210. Um, for those who don't know the Tacos 210 truck and Omar, who owns and operates it, um, they used to be um, you know, right next to the oh my gosh, what was that market? Just south of uh Pizza Venice on um Baja? No, is yeah, it was the Baja Ranch Market. Thank you. The long now defunct and now completely burned down shell of the former well, it's gonna get redeveloped now. Well, and that this is not bad. In fact, I dig I'm gonna like jump up, I'm gonna come back to Tacos 210, but we were just saying in our group, is anyone gonna place bets yet on how long and the web the uh completely dilapidated Webster's building on Lake is gonna sit there before something happens with it. But believe it or not, they're actually talks right now.

SPEAKER_01:

No, it's already been a it's it's been approved, it's supposed to be affordable housing and mixed use.

SPEAKER_00:

Uh-uh, no. It looks like it might be a hotel. Someone's trying to put a hotel there. Uh-huh. I know. Okay. Hotel Altadina.

SPEAKER_01:

All right. Living it up at the Hotel Altadena. There's no rancho down the street to Carl Holmes.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, I know. I was going to say come for the come for the fire and stay for the fire. I don't know.

SPEAKER_01:

You know, it's been done before in that last hotel that was here burnt down too.

SPEAKER_00:

No, I know. That's what I was thinking of. I was totally thinking of it. Up on the um at the tramway.

SPEAKER_01:

Yep.

SPEAKER_00:

The um, oh my gosh, come on, I used to hike up there. This is where the the pre perimetopause kills me and I can't remember things. Come on.

SPEAKER_01:

Mount Low.

SPEAKER_00:

Mount Low, thank you. Mount Low Hotel, which is go do some history and go look. But back to our small business shout-out. And you got a little history. Um, Tacos 210. You can still find their truck on Fair Oaks. Omar is awesome. The owner of that truck, again, another Altadina guy, Altadina, he's not just Altadina Small Business, who's been present in the community for years and years. Um, but Omar was actually living with his cousin very near where the truck is located on Fair Oaks, um, just south of Entura, and um lost that house. And his story is wild. They he has a an absolutely wildfire story. Um, some of it was covered. I mean, I know about it because I I've stood and we've he and I have you know shared a hug and a couple tears and a lot of conversations. Yeah, I oh I didn't mean it like that, Steve. But um dun dump dump, dad joke. Um you can read more about his story. Actually, there was a profile done of him in the truck um by Farley Elliott, who some of you may remember that name, Farley from Eater LA. Farley is now um heading up the West Coast desk, covering all things West Coast and all things SoCal for SF Gate. And so on July 28th, great profile of um Omar and the Tacos 210 truck and his entire story, his fire escape story. I say escape because again, it's wild what he experienced. I'm not gonna I'll say spare you guys spoilers, go read his story. But um, I'm convinced, you know, his tough food is so good on that truck, not only because of him, but like, you know, this guy worked in kitchens at patina. Um again, like I'm a hospitality person. I feel like everyone I know came out of patina at some point. Um and Omar is one of those people. They've got fantastic burritos. Personally, I like to go for the fish tacos. I just like his fish tacos. He does the gluten-free thing really well. They grill them, they're great. Um and then um they also have a you know a lot of um vegetarian and vegan options, which is great. So you can find uh vegetarian vegan options at the truck too. So even though only So where is the truck? Yep, it's just it's on Fair Oaks. You can always find it um on um Fair Oaks just on the west side of the street, just south of where that burned out um Baja Ranch was. Exactly. Well, he's instead of being on the side street, he's now on Fair Oaks. Okay, but he's still there. You can find him by finding following him online. He's um on Instagram at tacos210, tacos underscore two ten. And tell Omar that Shauna at Beautiful Al Tadina sent you because we love him.

SPEAKER_01:

Awesome.

SPEAKER_00:

And order a fish taco for me.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, thank you, Shauna. As always, it's always good to know all the different uh small businesses in our community. Thank you for letting me have a little rant this morning.

SPEAKER_00:

You needed to have a rant this morning, and this keeps coming up so often, even here in the studio where we're recording. You know, our our our sound crew was like, hey, what's up with Prop 50? Like, can we talk about that? So we're like, yeah, we can. We'll do a little special short episode. So that's it for today. Um, Steve and I will uh, you know where to find us. Um we are online at beautiful Altadina, Steve on uh, and I'm that's you know, me, I'm on Facebook, Instagram, Substack, you name it. All the things. All the things, and you can find Steve, Alta Policy. Just at the Substack. Substack. Um, and then just as a heads up for all of our listeners, um, we dropped uh what, three, four episodes last week. I mean, we we did a lot. We dropped like five episodes in the last uh couple weeks. Um, you're gonna get these two episodes, uh 11 and 12, or is this yes, 11 and 12. This week, we're gonna take a little break as um Steve will be out of town uh working his day job, and I will be out of town actually taking a little East Coast road trip for mental health, much needed.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes.

SPEAKER_00:

And um we will be back with you the week of hopefully the week of the 28th. The week of October 27th, 28th. Just in time for spooky Halloween season, even though frankly it's all spooky right now.

SPEAKER_01:

Indeed.

SPEAKER_00:

Talk to you. Thanks for listening.

SPEAKER_01:

Bye now.