Doug LaMalfa is either ignorant of or indifferent to the people in California Congressional District 1. A case in point: In a July 2nd call to LaMalfa’s Redding office, when asked if he or anyone in his office knew how many people in this district receive Medicaid/Medicare, the person who answered the phone said that they did not have that information. (It is approximately 300,000 people – almost 50% of the people in the district.) When asked if they knew how many people in the district receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance and Affordable Care Act/Covered California health insurance subsidies she again replied in the negative and asked what the point was. Upon the suggestion that Mr LaMalfa maybe should be aware of these numbers and take into account the people of his district before voting on the budget reconciliation bill, she responded that it is not the federal government’s responsibility to provide for the welfare of the people on Medicaid, SNAP and ACA/Covered California health insurance and that the state of California needs to step up. When questioned about LaMalfa supporting the federal government’s paying over 70% of his health insurance, giving him millions of dollars in federal farm subsidies, and funnelling billions of dollars more than it already does into the pockets the richest 10% of Americans and the corporations that they own, all while taking money and health care from the working people, the poor, the middle class, she responded by saying that that that is the way it is and hung up.
LaMalfa has voted for or voiced approval of raising taxes on working people, increases to health insurance premiums, cuts to Medicare/Medicaid, cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, removal of people from eligibility for Affordable Care Act/Covered California insurance, the arrest and detention of migrant farm workers without due process, government control of personal health decisions, and sale of National Forest and BLM land to private individuals/corporations. (Acer Klamath Forest LLC, owned by two Japanese corporations, is an example of a corporation that has purchased hundreds of thousands of acres in Siskiyou County and has blocked access to China Crater Lake, a popular spot with local families for decades.) He refuses to meet with his constituents in person and screens calls for his phone/online “Town Hall” meetings. His votes in congress are based on a rigid political ideology, not thoughtful public discourse, intellectual honesty, accurate information, or the will of the people in California Congressional district 1. He needs to be removed from office.
Arend Thomas
Weed, CA
Disclaimer: Reader submissions published in Siskiyou News reflect the views and opinions of their respective authors and do not necessarily represent the views, opinions, or endorsements of Siskiyou News, its staff, or its affiliates. As someone who’s a jack of all trades and master of none, I provide this platform to foster community dialogue and do not independently verify the accuracy of statements or claims made in these submissions. Readers are encouraged to consult official sources for further information on any issues raised.
- CALFIRE SISKIYOU UNIT HAND CREW SELECTED FOR BLUE RIBBON AWARD
- 10th DAA selects Kenny Elwood for 2026 Golden Pass
- FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT: Carson’s Window Coverings & More
- Traffic Stop in Siskiyou County Leads to $1.9 Million Cocaine Seizure, Driver Arrested
- F-35A Lightning II Jets from Luke AFB Arrive for Two-Week Training at Kingsley Field
3 Comments
My guess is you were talking to Erin Ryan. She is poorly informed on many subjects that are quite relevant to our County (Siskiyou, CA). She knows virtually nothing about science. From my observations of her behavior when she visits Siskiyou County, she seems to be collecting little more than catchy talking points that she can take back to her boss (LaMafia) so he can regurgitate them as something he knows locals will want to hear. LaMalfa is another poorly informed individual who has some serious conflicts of interest with the ranchers and farmers of Siskiyou County. LaMafia is a Rice Farmer who uses thousands of acre-feet of water annually for his rice crops, which a large multiple of what other similar sized orchards use. He needs more water that he hopes will come from our share in Siskiyou County… He’s not a genuine friend to our County, and his cohorts here make lots excuses for his lack of results for our County. I fully agree with the author of this article, LaMalfa MUST GO, along with Erin Ryan. Here is an article that was published by Benzinga in 2019 about LaMalfa and his lame ideas: https://www.benzinga.com/pressreleases/19/08/r14338973/rancher-logger-author-and-naturalist-william-e-simpson-ii-disagrees-with-dois-plan-of-burning-amer
Excellent opinion piece. LaMalfa votes his conservative ideology not what best for the people in our district.
Very well written article: Doug LaMalfa has never represented anyone but himself. Being reelected over and over to congress is a sweet deal he will never walk away from: being a politician is far too lucrative. Politicians like Mr LaMalfa have learned the art of mouthing familiar cliches, never really engaging in detailed policy discussions about what would benefit the blue collar working people of the north state. Why we keep electing wealthy elites like LaMalfa has more to do with a clever system of sophisticated propaganda than the real interests and needs of the north state .