‘It splits Clovis into three:’ Why city officials say they oppose Proposition 50
The Clovis City Council adopted an official position opposing Proposition 50 on November’s ballot by a vote of 4 in favor, 0 opposed, and one councilmember absent from the meeting.
Prop. 50 will determine whether California uses a redrawn congressional district map for the next three elections, a move that leaves the battle for control of the U.S. House of Representatives in next year’s midterm election at stake.
Normally, the United States conducts redistricting every 10 years following the U.S. Census to reflect population shifts. California and other states were supposed to redistrict after the next U.S. Census in 2030.
However, earlier this year, the Texas Legislature approved a new redistricting map with President Donald Trump’s support that is intended to garner more seats in Congress for Republicans in the 2026 midterm elections. Democratic leaders, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom, subsequently launched Prop. 50 in an attempt to neutralize Texas’s maneuver for next year’s midterms.
In the current congressional district map, effective since 2020, the entire city of Clovis lies within the 20th Congressional District held by U.S. Rep. Vince Fong (R-Bakersfield).
If Prop. 50 is adopted, Clovis will be split among three districts: District 5 represented by Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Elk Grove) to the north, District 21 represented Rep. Jim Costa (D-Fresno) to the west, and District 20.
Councilmember Drew Bessinger said the redistricting map is unreasonable. The proposed District 5, in particular, would have boundaries that extend northward from Clovis City Hall, traversing the Sierras all the way to the Nevada border, north to Alpine County and south to San Bernardino County, he said.
“It’s not compact. It is not contiguous. It splits Clovis into three,” Bessinger said. “They’re saying that this is an emergency because of what’s happening in Texas. I don’t live in Texas. I don’t vote in Texas. But it basically sends the voices of our citizens, literally and figuratively, out into the wilderness.”
Bessinger said he opposes Prop. 50 because it undermines the chances of Republican representatives securing seats and silences Republican voters.
“With this, the Republicans would probably lose three to four seats at least. Is that what the plan is? Yes, it is,” he said. “You cannot say I’m saving democracy, but I’m going to do it in a very sneaky, undemocratic way.”
Mayor Pro Tem Diane Pearce said carving Clovis up into three districts would dilute residents’ voices and the city’s ability to advocate for itself at the national level.
“I have to credit Congressman Vince Fong for being very responsive. He works very well with us. If I call him, he picks up the phone and he connects me to the staff member that can further our request,” Pearce said. “But to have to do that three times is not going to be in the best interest of the needs of the city of Clovis.”
During public comment, some Clovis residents urged the council to support Prop. 50, while a few were in favor of the council passing the resolution.
Clovis resident Jeni Ann Kren said the City Council should not have taken a position on Prop. 50 because municipal governments in California are supposed to be non-partisan.
“The job of a city council is to take care of their communities, to make sure they’re safe, that services are functioning, that their communities are desirable places to live. And I think that that is really where you know the focus should be,” said Kran. “There is nothing about Prop 50 that has to do with how Clovis is governed. It has to do with federal elections or federal Congress members and how they are elected.”
Clovis resident Eric Rollins said he is concerned that his voice would not be heard because some districts on the proposed map are vast.
“They’re doing things like not taking into account the fact that in order for a congressional person to represent his community properly, if we look at one of those districts, he has to cross the Sierras. And there aren’t many opportunities to cross the Sierras. So unless he has a plane to do it, he’s going to have to choose which side,” Rollins said. “I’m very much against Prop 50. I think that all of the arguments about, ‘Well, Texas is doing the wrong thing,’ no, I think that we always need to do the right thing.”
Mayor Vong Mouanoutoua said his priority is to keep Clovis intact. Clovis already dislikes the transition from at-large election to district elections on the city’s level, he said.
The council passed the resolution with four votes in favor. Councilmember Lynne Ashbeck was absent from Monday evening’s meeting.
This story was originally published October 8, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
