Redistricting moves longtime Congressman east, Huffman now represents north county
One newly elected congressman and another re-elected lawmaker are both greeting new constituents thanks to congressional redistricting in California.
Democrats Jared Huffman and Mike Thompson now represent the 2nd and 5th districts, respectively, in the US House of Representatives. Prior to redistricting, Congressman Mike Thompson was responsible for the 1st district, which included Healdsburg and Windsor, while Sebastopol lay within the 6th district.
Residents of Sebastopol, Healdsburg and Windsor are now all part of California’s 2nd congressional district, with the border of the 5th district stopping just short of Sebastopol to the east.
Thompson’s former district covered only the eastern and northern parts of Sonoma County. Now the 5th district accounts for Santa Rosa and Sonoma as well as some other eastern areas of the county. The congressman, who previously served in California State Senate, wrote in an email statement to the Tribune that he never felt one could represent only part of a county.
“So, while I am sad to lose some areas of Sonoma County, and excited to come home to others I represented in the State Senate, I will continue working everyday to make all of Sonoma County a better place to live, work, start a business and raise a family,” he wrote.
Redistricting occurs every 10 years in California, after the federal census. New lines are redrawn by the California Citizens Redistricting Commission to reflect the current population data for Congressional, State Senate, State Assembly and State Board of Equalization districts.
Generally, redistricting doesn’t lead to too many problems, according to Sonoma State University professor of political science David McCuan.
“Constituents may be unsure of where the boundaries rest with their members and so when calling their offices they may be asked for their zip codes,” McCuan told the Tribune.
California is one of six states with an independent commission such as the California Citizens Redistricting Commission for redistricting, McCuan said.
“They submitted several plans. The first was a dog’s breakfast,” he said. “The second and third got progressively better, but they could only have improved from the original.”
With the 2nd district stretching from Marin all the way up to Del Norte County, Huffman is set to be covering a lot of ground. The incoming freshman representative had already made his mark in his new district as a state assemblyman, McCuan said.
Huffman was well-known in the population centers in Sonoma and Marin counties and represented many of the issues of that area, McCuan said.
“He has an upward trajectory in the house if he can get his voice heard as a minority,” McCuan said. “The Democrats will look to grow his role with his background in land use and environment issues.”
A statement from the congressman’s office outlined his thoughts on taking on the challenges of the new 2nd district.
“There are two significant changes for Windsor and Healdsburg,” Congressman Huffman wrote. “The first is the district itself, which now includes even more of the North Coast but no longer includes Santa Rosa or Lake and Napa Counties. The other change is that after many years of representing this area, Congressman Mike Thompson was moved to a neighboring district and I will be taking his place.”
McCuan said he thinks Thompson would be in a position to mentor the incoming representative and Congressman Huffman said as much in his statement to the Tribune.
“I obviously have big shoes to fill, but I think my staff and I are up to the task,” he said. “I will also be working closely with Mike on issues of concern to this area, so my hope is that the combination of my hard work and Mike’s continuing role as a neighbor and ally will actually strengthen our hand in Congress.”
McCuan said he thinks the that Thompson and Huffman stand to become a force to be reckoned with in Congress.
