Opinion: Prop. 50 intentionally disenfranchises East County voters

After more than 35 years leading teams and navigating complex industries, I’ve known that leadership must be rooted in integrity.

Public service as an elected official may be rather new for me, but I know this: Protecting the rules of fair representation should matter more than a power grab.

When Californians voted to create the Citizens Redistricting Commission in 2010, we did it with purpose. We understood that fair representation required more than just lines on a map crafted by politicians.

It required honoring the lived realities of regions: their communities and neighborhoods, their infrastructure, their advocacy networks, and their shared needs.

Proposition 50 threatens to undo that progress. It would allow the Legislature to override the independent redistricting process of 2022 and impose a map that fractures communities for short-term political gain. And the proposed map? It’s a blueprint for permanent damage.

Proponents claim this is a “one-time exception.” Let’s be honest: If the Legislature can override the independent commission once, it can do it again. There’s nothing in the language of Proposition 50 that permanently bars future overrides. This isn’t a fix — it’s a test run for politicians to see just how far they can go.

It also means our California Constitution doesn’t really matter. Remember that when politicians campaign on protecting it.

East County, North County and the inland corridor are distinct voices being deliberately dismantled. California’s 48th U.S. House District, represented by Darrell Issa, is a textbook example.

Today, it leans Republican: 42% of voters are registered Republicans, 28% registered Democrats. Under the new maps, the balance would flip — about 39% Democrat to 29% Republican.

How? By removing conservative areas and replacing them with more Democrat-leaning areas. That’s not reform — it’s retaliation, and we are the collateral damage.

San Diego’s East County — Santee, Lakeside, Ramona, Alpine — and the inland corridor up Interstate 15 through Murrieta and Temecula are not coastal enclaves. These communities face different challenges, and our priorities are immensely different.

Yet under Proposition 50, Santee and half of Ramona, Poway and Valley Center would be folded into Rep. Scott Peters’ district. Lakeside, Blossom Valley, Alpine, half of Ramona and El Cajon would be in Rep. Sara Jacobs’ district.

How do these Democrat politicians suddenly become the voice for North and East County? Have they ever driven the 67, 52, 78 or even know what Dudley’s is? Not likely.

But this isn’t just about representation; it’s also about functionality. When a region is split across multiple congressional districts, it doesn’t just lose cohesion — it loses time. Federal projects require coordination, and when you have different representatives with different priorities, even basic infrastructure needs can stall.

Just look at the Tijuana sewage crisis. It’s a federal issue that’s plagued San Diego’s southern communities and our coastline for years. We had a Democratic president, a Democratic governor and mostly Democratic representatives in the region — and still, nothing happened. It wasn’t until 2025, when Republicans and Democrats at the federal, state and local levels worked together, that we saw real movement. That’s not a partisan critique — it’s a reality check.

More Democrats in power didn’t equal more efficiency. What mattered was coordinated representation and shared urgency.

Like previous state ballot measures, Proposition 50 uses title-washing tactics. I’ve read the language of the ballot measure and who wouldn’t want to “protect democracy”? That’s part of the ballot title voters may read. But the content, murky and misleading, is designed to trick Californians into voting for a power grab.

I’ve reviewed the partisan messaging and there is no doubt a lot of money will be spent to influence your vote in November. My hope is that just as we had common-sense bipartisan support for measures like the recent Proposition 36 crime-reduction law, communities will rally together and reject a politically motivated gerrymandered map that fractures oversight and undermines the very communities it claims to represent.

I urge all Californians to vote “no” on Proposition 50. 

Koval is a Santee City Council member.