SpeakUp! Costa Mesa – Urson Russell on Proposition 50

On November 4, 2025, California will hold a statewide special election to determine who controls the drawing of congressional district maps through 2030. This measure was introduced in response to Texas’s mid-decade partisan redistricting. Critics argue that the proposal would enable gerrymandering in California, giving state leaders the power to manipulate district boundaries as political retaliation against Republican majorities elsewhere.

What does Proposition 50 do?
• Puts on hold the voter-approved Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission
• Hands redistricting power back to Sacramento politicians.
• Ends the constitutional ban on gerrymandering
• Creates the most politically manipulated congressional maps in modern U.S. history

For more information about Proposition 50: https://lao.ca.gov/BallotAnalysis/Proposition?number=50&year=2025

Urson Russell was born and raised in Costa Mesa, is a lifelong resident and has a passion for Costa Mesa. As a business owner, he wants to work to keep a healthy balance of residential and business communities working together and make Costa Mesa one of the greatest cities to live in California.