The Megadonor Opposing Proposition 50 Explains His Position

Here are the morning’s top stories on Thursday, October 23, 2025…

• Proposition 50 would temporarily let the legislature draw new congressional maps, a move supporters, including Governor Newsom, say is meant to stop gerrymandering and protect democracy. But opponents are calling it a partisan power grab, warning it could weaken the state’s independent redistricting commission. One of the most vocal critics is Charles Munger Jr., a physicist and political activist who is the top donor for the No on Prop 50 campaign. 
• Bay Area officials are pushing back on news of Trump administration plans to send dozens of Border Patrol agents to the Bay Area.

Top Proposition 50 Opponent Confident Despite Spending Slowdown

Charles Munger Jr., the Bay Area megadonor leading the campaign against Proposition 50, said he remained confident opponents can defeat the redistricting measure on the November ballot, despite a recent slowdown in their campaign spending and the measure pulling ahead in most polls.

The Palo Alto physicist has spent nearly $33 million against Proposition 50, which would replace California’s current congressional lines, drawn by a citizen commission, with a map favoring Democrats. Munger Jr. bankrolled the 2008 ballot measure that created the citizen commission and is far and away the top spender in this year’s campaign. “I’ve spent a literal fortune now and a great deal of time, energy and frankly agony in trying to keep this future from overtaking the people of California,” Munger Jr. said. “And it’s now up to them what they do.”

In an interview with KQED’s The California Report, the normally reclusive Munger Jr. pushed back against supporters of the measure, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has argued that Proposition 50 is needed to combat Republican gerrymandering in states such as Texas. Democrats in California placed Proposition 50 before voters after President Donald Trump called on GOP-led states to redraw their maps mid-decade, to give Republicans a better chance of hanging on to control of Congress in next year’s midterms. Munger Jr. said Democrats should work to win back control of the House fair and square — with California’s current maps. “You can win as many seats in the fair districts that we have as you can win by this gerrymander,” Munger Jr. said. “The only difference is the politicians aren’t choosing which Democrats and which Republicans are going to be elected.”

Federal Border Agents To Arrive In Bay Area As Cities Brace For Enforcement Surge

Federal agents are set to arrive in Alameda this week as part of a major immigration enforcement operation in the Bay Area, the U.S. Coast Guard confirmed.

Alameda’s Coast Guard base will serve as a “place of operation” for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency, a spokesperson said, as President Donald Trump continues to crack down on undocumented immigration with expanded raids and surges of federal officers.

“The support of [Department of Homeland Security] agencies continues the Coast Guard’s action to provide its unique authorities and capabilities as part of [the] government’s approach to control, secure and defend U.S. borders and maritime approaches by dismantling transnational criminal organizations, including drug and human smuggling operations, narcoterrorists and other hostile activity before they reach the border,” the spokesperson said.

Alameda County Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas told KQED that Trump is sending 60 to 100 Border Patrol agents, who are expected to begin arriving at the base as soon as Thursday.

“It’s the authoritarian playbook,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said during a press conference Wednesday. “For this administration, you send first masked men to the cities that you want to militarize … communities are torn asunder, it creates anxiety and stress, and that manifests into expressions of free speech. And then you use those expressions and those images as the justification to send the guard and suppress free speech, suppress free expression.” Since May, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and CBP officials have been escalating operations throughout the Bay Area, moving to have undocumented immigrants’ asylum cases dismissed and arresting them outside of courtrooms and ICE field offices. More than 2,000 people were arrested in San Francisco’s “Area of Responsibility” between January and July 2025, according to Mission Local.