SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
A top California Republican is proposing to split his state in two. One would be a narrow coastal strip, including predominantly Democratic strongholds like Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area. The other state would be inland - Shasta, Mariposa, Tulare and other largely rural counties that currently lean more Republican. James Gallagher is the Republican minority leader in the California State Assembly. He's introduced the bill and calls it a two-state solution. Course, this comes after California Democrats voted to redraw congressional districts to deliver more Democratic seats. Assemblyman Gallagher joins us now from Sacramento. Thank you very much for being with us.
JAMES GALLAGHER: Yeah, good to be with you.
SIMON: And may I ask, with respect - are you serious?
GALLAGHER: I am serious. You know, really, you know, what this all comes down to is the issue of representation. That's what we're fighting about when it comes to the gerrymandering that's been going on nationwide. And that's what we're talking about here with this new two-state proposal, is that there's a lot of California that feels like it's not represented. Farmers who've seen their commodity prices drop. The blue-collar worker who, you know, commutes to a job at a refinery that's about to close, and he's filling up at the gas tank and paying the highest gas prices in the nation. I mean, these are the forgotten people of California. And, you know, the powers that be really don't care about them because they don't have to. They will get reelected, mostly, in these, you know, coastal areas, no matter what. They have all power, and they don't really have to address the issues of, you know, inland California.
SIMON: Assemblyman, would it be a good idea, though, to cut off inland California from what are, after all, in metro Los Angeles and San Francisco, some of the wealthiest counties in the country?
GALLAGHER: Well, I think it'd be a misnomer to say this is going to be a poor state. Actually, if this - you know, the counties I propose become a new state, they would be, I believe, the tenth-largest state in the nation. They have a very strong GDP, a lot of manufacturing, you know, logistics that are done in this area, agriculture, timber industry. You know, there's - there is a lot of actual jobs and wealth and opportunity in this part of California.
SIMON: But I have to ask - do you - I mean, do you rule out the possibility that a Republican like yourself could win statewide?
GALLAGHER: No. I mean, I don't rule it out, but I do think that the current structure is one that makes it really hard for us to have a voice and a say in our policies, right? And to me, it actually really isn't about Republican or Democrat. And if you looked at this new state, I think you'd see it's actually a pretty competitive state. It has Republicans, Democrats, independents. It's actually very diverse. You very - have a very high Latino population. And, you know, this would be a state where there would have to be more of a debate over ideas, which is what you want.
SIMON: Did the Democratic plan to redraw congressional districts set this off?
GALLAGHER: Absolutely. I would say it's the straw that broke the camel's back. There has been a lot of these problems for a while, but now what you're telling me is that you're going to strip my area, you know, of all congressional representation. And instead, somebody from Marin is going to tell me and advocate for me on my issues, right? Somebody from, you know, Santa Rosa is going to make decisions for somebody in Butte County. I appreciate all the parts of California, but they are very different, as we know, and they have different issues and different industries. And, you know, we deserve representation just as much as anybody else.
SIMON: What about the argument that I'm sure you've heard from Democrats in California that they feel they have been forced to do this because of what Republicans in Texas did?
GALLAGHER: I think - I disagree with what's going on in Texas. I was actually really clear about that on the floor. Many Republicans in California have said that. But I think the other fact for your listeners to know is that it's not Texas who's the only one that's doing gerrymandering. In fact, Democrats are - have been much better at gerrymandering than Republicans when you look at a state like Massachusetts, for instance, that has zero Republican congressmen, but yet when they have statewide votes, Republicans get 40% of the vote.
SIMON: Assemblyman, I don't have to tell you that the state assembly has 60 Democrats in it now, 19 Republicans. Senate has 30 Democrats and 10 Republicans. What arguments will you use to try and convince your Democratic colleagues to cross the aisle and vote with you on this?
GALLAGHER: You know, some of it is just, hey, let my people go, you know? I mean, they represent different parts of the state. And I am saying that, hey, you can continue to advocate for all the policies that - you know, that you want. I mean, you could double down on, you know, some of the policies. Maybe you'll even get to $10 gas, you know, while you guys are at it. But let us govern ourselves and our area the way that we know best, right? And to me, that's more fitting with democracy and, you know, representative government.
SIMON: California Assemblyman James Gallagher, thanks so much.
GALLAGHER: No problem. Thank you.
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