Today’s column cites Joe Mathews as the primary source. Joe writes his California Connected column for the Arizona State University publication, He’s a Zocalo Public Square (this is redundant because the zocalo is a public square, but it’s an aside).
Instead of taking a dramatic approach that would convey many facts and figures to you in a staccato rhythm of nouns, instead of a myriad of descriptive adjectives leading to one climatic broad sentence, I’ll tell you straight through. No state legislators live within the boundaries of Monterey County. not one. Now let’s look at the facts and figures.
The county is home to approximately 437,000 people, who live in remote areas such as Big Sur and the Monterey Peninsula to Salinas, the Valley, and Bitterwater and Parkfield to Joron and Bryson Hesperia. A region where economic, social and cultural diversity is the norm.
The county provides the country with a treasure trove of produce from lettuce, one-third of the nation’s total, and broccoli for beef and wine. It’s just a fraction of the huge exports. In 2020, sales of vegetables, fruits and nuts, livestock and poultry, seedlings, field and seed crops, and apiaries before pandemic closures totaled $3,910,135,000. That doesn’t include his $4.4 billion in cannabis products sold to consumers. It is one of the healthy agricultural landscapes.
Tourism can be a blessing or a disaster, depending on when and where it exists. I have read and heard over the years residents of the peninsula complaining about the negative effects of some of the large events being held across the region. The annual Contour d’Elegance in various locations and the motorcycle race in Laguna Seca are easy targets for local complainers.
On the flip side of the proverb, I’ve heard people dismay at the lack of tourists in South County. Regardless of your opinion, tourism will bring so many people to the county in 2021 they spent $2.5 billion. This was him down 22% from 2019.
I could go on and on about the diversity of Monterey County’s residents, but the fact that you live here and that we are people of many heritages who occupy every rung of our society’s cultural ladder. I don’t think it’s really necessary for our readers, because we know that there’s a lot more to say about this dynamic county with a colorful past and a bright future, but let’s take a look at our interests in Sacramento. There are no representative county residents yet.
why do you ask The answer dates back to 1812 in Massachusetts. That’s when Gov. Elbridge Gerry approved a map redrawn by Jeffersonian Republicans to give their party a political edge in the polls. His one in the new constituency was shaped like a salamander, so the new map rival he came up with a portmanteau of Gerry-mander. The term exists today when politicians redraw constituencies to benefit their party. Today, the word is pronounced with a soft “g” like Jerry, but Elbridge’s was pronounced with a hard “g” like Gary.
This bit of partisan research and remapping took place here in California last year. — No more local representatives in the big white building of the Sac. I have known Anna Caballero for decades. We first met when, as a reporter for The Greenfield News, she wrote an article about a law firm she was partnering with opening a local office. When things got into trouble, she became my attorney, then mayor of Salinas, and eventually our representative in the state legislature.
Although she’s the person with the most ties to Monterey County, the new map places Anna’s district in the Central Valley. She and her husband Juan still live in Salinas. One of her current legislators is former Morro Bay Alderman Dawn Addis, and from where she lives her 30th borough runs from Santa Her Maria to Monterey Her Bay, which is 103 miles away. Robert Rivas’ District 29 represents the eastern half of Monterey County, but he is a San Juan boy from Benito County, raised in Picins, San Juan He attended school in Bautista and lives in Hollister .
State Senator John Laird represents the state’s 17th District, which includes Santa Cruz and Monterey counties and includes portions of both Santa Clara and San Luis Obispo counties. He lives in Santa Cruz.
But this is not a rant against the current representatives of Congress or the Senate, just pointing out a simple fact. None of our precincts have residents of Monterey County. It dates back to 1879, the last time California established a legislative district with fewer than 1 million people.
Today, the national average population of state congressional districts is about 100,000. There are about 500,000 in California, which is more than the total population given the lack of representatives of residents currently in Sacramento.
Stop the press!!
I received Anna Caballero’s newsletter and this latest newsletter states that the Senate Rules Committee has decided that Anna will continue to represent the Salinas Valley and San Benito County, which will add 300,000 voters to the 14th District. I am letting you know what I did. very good news for us here in the Valley but sunk a very well written paragraph with some relevant factoids.
take care. peace.
