Ever since the last-minute map switcheroo that scooped out northwest Orange County and grafted it to the hip (to be polite) of Long Beach to form California Congressional District 47 (CA-47), I have whined about the smaller cities in Orange County being lost in the shadow of great big Long Beach.
This morning, an article by Kyle Trygstad at Roll Call, which covers Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., lends strength to my complaint.
“Parties Draw Lines in California Sand” analyzes the lie of the land in the Golden State for Congressional candidates following the June primary.
CA-47 is mentioned briefly in the article (emphasis added):
The district was drawn to hand to Alan Lowenthal, a Democrat with a Long Beach power base.
Alan Lowenthal’s opponent in the Fall general election will be Gary DeLong, also from Long Beach.
In the House of Representatives, the new district effectively silences the voices of the smaller cities along the northwestern Orange County border.
After suffering under this map for a decade, I will be laying in wait for the next so-called non-partisan redistricting commission after the 2020 census.
As the saying goes, Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.
Related articles
- Nation watching today’s California primary (oc-breeze.com)
- Lowenthal coasts to top spot in new 47th Congressional District (oc-breeze.com)
- Meet-and-greet for Congressional candidate Gary DeLong in Rossmoor (oc-breeze.com)
- Congressional candidate Gary DeLong asks whether higher taxes are necessary (oc-breeze.com)
- Lowenthal, DeLong face off for Congress in new O.C./Long Beach district (ocregister.com)
- NRCC notices California Congressional District 47 (oc-breeze.com)
- Congressional candidates answer questions at Cypress College forum (oc-breeze.com)
- House contender DeLong named GOP ‘Young Gun’ (totalbuzz.ocregister.com)
About the Author
While I can understand your concern about Orange County cities being 42% of the new district, Orange County residents have been very engaged in my campaign, have made very generous financial contributions to my campaign, showed up at the polls and voted for my campaign, and if elected, I will work very hard to represent the interests of each and every Orange County city.
I truly appreciate the Orange County support, and will work hard to continue to earn it.
Gary DeLong
Candidate, California 47th Congressional District
Yes, Gary, this side of the ‘Orange Curtain’ very much wants a strong conservative voice following the November election. Disappointingly, your oponent without spending hardly a dime, gathered more than 8,000 votes in the OC; so the challenges are going to be great to counter the liberal vote. You have our support, but it looks like it is going to take much more than that.