Here’s your next congressman, north Fresno. He doesn’t even need your vote
Greetings, north Fresno residents. Hope you like being represented in Congress by a carpetbagger. Because that’s your fate.
If Thursday’s news that Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Elk Grove) is running for re-election in the newly drawn Congressional District 5 didn’t immediately scare off all Fresno-area challengers from his side of the aisle, it probably will soon enough.
The inescapable facts are contained within the California Citizens Redistricting Commission’s final report — appendix 4, page 61, to be precise. Under the heading “California State Congressional Plan,” a table lists each of the state’s 52 newly drawn congressional districts and their population makeup by county.
When the maps were first released, CD 5 was thought to be a Fresno-centric seat. Meaning the population of north Fresno would hold sway in a sprawling district containing all or parts of eight counties.
The actual numbers present a different picture. Turns out CD 5 isn’t a Fresno seat at all. Rather, more than 43 percent of its residents live in Stanislaus County. Fresno County residents make up less than 16 percent of the district, even fewer than El Dorado County’s 17 percent.
If anything, CD 5 is more of a Stanislaus County seat. Modesto and Fresno are the two largest cities partially contained within its boundaries, with Modesto residents outnumbering Fresno 169,495 to 105,435. El Dorado Hills, an unincorporated area with a population of 50,547, and Turlock (44,846) are next followed by Riverbank (24,933) and Oakdale (23,242).
For any Fresno-area Republican with dreams of Capitol Hill, those are sobering figures. And with CD 21 (which includes most of Fresno south of Shaw Avenue and stretches south to Visalia) drawn to heavily favor Democrats and all of Clovis and a chunk of east central Fresno contained within CD 20 where Bakersfield GOP House leader Kevin McCarthy intends to run, any aspirations must be shelved.
McClintock scares off challengers
Which helps explain why state Sen. Andreas Borgeas bowed out of the race just as soon as McClintock entered — even though the northwest Fresno Republican’s current district overlaps greatly with the new CD 5.
Fresno County Supervisor Nathan Magsig still intends to run for the six-month House term created by Devin Nunes’ resignation. The Clovis Republican said he’s “totally committed” to that race. Yet it’s unclear whether Magsig will also run for the two-year term and in which district.
Also running for Nunes’ seat is Fresno Republican Elizabeth Heng, who unsuccessfully challenged Rep. Jim Costa in 2018. In a more diverse district, Heng’s ethnicity and personal story would play well. But the voters of the new CD 5 are 71.3 percent white, so let’s be real.
Just for laughs, here’s how the state’s redistricting commission described CD 5 in the final report:
“In large part, these communities have tourism- and agriculture-based economies (and) are nestled in large swaths of federal public lands. Shared interests include recreation, natural resource management, access to broadband, access to health care, wildfires, and forest conservation.”
Not sure which parts of north Fresno commission members have visited, but that doesn’t sound much like the corner of Blackstone and Herndon to me.
So long, meaningful discourse
Enter McClintock, a six-term congressman who has made a habit of living outside the district he represents. (House rules permit this for some reason.) McClintock resides in Elk Grove, which isn’t within his current district or the new CD 5. But that hasn’t tripped him up so far.
It’s unlikely to stop McClintock in 2022, either. Not in a district with a Republican voter registration advantage of +16 according to fivethirtyeight.com.
McClintock’s declaration, coupled with Borgeas’ withdrawal, ensures the CD 5 race will lack any thoughtful, meaningful discourse.
During his time in Congress, McClintock has shown himself to be little more than an obstructionist. Rather than offer fresh ideas, he peddles in ridiculous stunts and closed-minded rhetoric. He’s a career politician who constantly rails against the government while drawing a taxpayer-funded salary and doesn’t seem to get the irony.
We’ll have ample time to pick apart McClintock between now and November. For now, suffice to say north Fresno residents have a new congressman in waiting. One who doesn’t need their votes to get elected.
And you thought Nunes was unresponsive to constituent needs … yikes.
