Central Valley Farmers Express Concerns About Possibility Of New Political Maps

Here are the morning’s top stories on Tuesday, October 28, 2025…

• The ripple effects of President Trump’s national gerrymandering battle are being felt in California’s rich agricultural belt. Next week, voters in the state will decide whether to support Proposition 50. That’s Governor Newsom’s plan to counter surprise redistricting in Texas and other red states. If Prop 50 passes, Congressman David Valadao of the Central Valley would be one of five Republicans on the chopping block. And that worries farmers in his district. 
• State Attorney General Rob Bonta says the monitors that the U.S. Department of Justice is sending to five California counties will not be allowed to interfere in the voting process.
• The Los Angeles Dodgers won a marathon Game 3 of the World Series, as Freddie Freeman hit a walk-off home run in the 18th inning.

Central Valley Farmers Say Redistricting Could Have Huge Impact On Industry

If Californians pass Proposition 50 next week, several areas of the state could see far different representation in the coming years. That includes the Central Valley, where agriculture is king.

Charles Meyer grows a cornucopia of crops on his 1500 acres in Stratford, in Kings County. “We’re growing wheat, we’re growing alfalfa, we’re growing almonds, we’re growing pistachios,” he said. Kings County is one of three agricultural counties that make up District 22, represented by Republican Congressman David Valadao. Farms bring in billions of dollars to the region and Meyer said he feels the elected leader in District 22 should represent the interests of the agriculture industry, like Valadao, a former dairy farmer. “You become attached to the ground. It’s like our boys in the military, they give their life for the country. We feel about our ground about like that,” Meyer said.

Valadao is in danger of losing his seat if maps are redrawn and Prop 50 passes. Meyer said the new maps are an overreach, blaming Democrats for rising farming costs and slumping profits. And while it’s a common thought among the farming community, Democrats in the region welcome a possible change, blaming Valadao for issues like healthcare costs.

Attorney General Says Federal Election Monitors Are Unnecessary

California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Monday denounced plans by the Justice Department to send election monitors to California, where voting is underway in the closely watched contest over Proposition 50.

The Trump administration announced Friday that it would send monitors to five counties, including Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, Kern and Fresno for the Nov. 4 special election. The Justice Department said in a news release that it would send monitors to polling places and to offices of registrars of voters “to ensure transparency, ballot security, and compliance with federal law.” The move comes in response to a request for monitors by the California Republican Party, which claimed voting irregularities in past elections including that voters received incorrect ballots.

It’s not uncommon for the federal government to monitor elections, but Bonta questioned the motives behind the decision. “These are not normal times so it is with a great deal of concern that I see these so-called election monitors coming to California,” he said. “We have to look at the broader context here.”

President Donald Trump has claimed there’s widespread voter fraud in California, where 81% of ballots are mailed in. He reiterated his position as recently as Sunday on his Truth Social account. Bonta said Monday that voter fraud is extremely rare in California, and Secretary of State Shirley Weber says on her website that mail-in ballots provide more election security, not less. Bonta said the election monitors are designed to bolster the president’s claim of election fraud and to sow fear among citizen immigrant voters. The attorney general promised to monitor the monitors. “Of course there will be observers of the election monitors — so-called election monitors — that the DOJ is sending. They will not be allowed to do things that they are not allowed to do,” he said. “They can watch and observe like everybody else.”

After 18 Innings, Dodgers Prevail Over Blue Jays In World Series Classic

Freddie Freeman homered leading off the bottom of the 18th inning, Shohei Ohtani went deep twice in another record-setting performance and the Los Angeles Dodgers outlasted the Toronto Blue Jays 6-5 in Game 3 on Monday night to win a World Series classic.

The defending champion Dodgers took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven matchup and still have a chance to win the title at home — something they haven’t done since 1963.

Freeman connected off left-hander Brendon Little, sending a 406-foot drive to straightaway center field to finally end a game that lasted 6 hours, 39 minutes, and matched the longest by innings in postseason history. The only other Series contest to go 18 innings was Game 3 at Dodger Stadium seven years ago. Freeman’s current teammate, Max Muncy, won that one for Los Angeles with an 18th-inning homer against the Boston Red Sox in a game that took 7 hours, 20 minutes.