DIXON, CA (MPG) - Congressman Mike Thompson wanted to get to know this town a little better so he spent a day here in Dixon last week"'his first stop as a congressional candidate. Thompson, who represents District 5 will be running for re-election in District 4 in November which due to redistricting, includes Dixon.

He toured Dixon’s downtown, went on a tour of Altec alongside the City Economic Development/Grants Manager Larry Burkhardt, met with other Dixon City staff, and stopped at the Dixon School District office.

“I think he was intent on getting better acquainted with an area within his newly-defined district that he intends to run in,” said Burkhardt.

At the end of the day, Councilman Jim Ernest, together with Dixon Planning Commissioner Loraine Hernández-Covello and Dixon School Board Candidate Julian Cuevas brought together members of the Latino community, for a meet and greet with the Congressman.

The meet and greet was hosted by Jill Orr at Dawson’s Restaurant. The group discussed the Congressman’s career and his connection to this area. Participants discussed issues particular to Dixon and touched on issues concerning Dixon’s Latino community.

Dixon is in US Congressional District 3 represented currently by Congressman John Garamendi but beginning January 2023, redistricting will move the City of Dixon to Congressional District 4 and Garamendi will be moving to a different district. Primaries will be held this June, and the General Election will be November 2022.

The maps and the new district boundaries don’t actually become “operative” until the 2022 primary and general elections; the new boundaries are used for those elections and the new districts don’t actually “exist” until after the 2022 general election is completed.

Thompson, 71, has been in the House of Representatives since 2013 representing all of Napa and parts of Contra Costa, Lake, Sonoma and Solano counties. He is a Vietnam Veteran who was awarded a Purple Heart, is a small vineyard owner, and also an avid sportsman. He announced this week that he intends to seek re-election in newly drawn Congressional districts that represent Solano County from the south to the area of Vacaville north, east of Fairfield-Suisun and down to Rio Vista.

Garamendi who lives in Walnut Grove, represents Dixon but his residence location removes him from districts that included Solano. Thompson’s district has changed also but his residence is in St. Helena, in the new District.

“I was born, grew up and have lived my entire life in the newly numbered 4th Congressional District. The outpouring of support I’ve received is humbling and I’m looking forward to working with state and local leaders on the challenges we face,” Thompson said in a statement.

Thompson’s number one priority in Congress is to create jobs and grow our economy. He has co-authored numerous pieces of legislation to improve our nation’s infrastructure, boost our renewable energy economy, and better our education system, according to his website.

Additionally, under the new maps, Solano would be located in a single Assembly district, instead of being divided among three. That new district would be the 11th District, which encompasses Solano County, eastern Contra Costa County, and a portion of rural Sacramento County that has been represented by Jim Frazier, who is stepping down.

Solano county will continue to be located within the 3rd Senate District represented by Bill Dodd, D-Napa, whose current term ends in 2024.

The California Citizens Redistricting Commission delivered California’s Congressional, State Senate, Assembly, and Board of Equalization maps that will affect California voting districts for the next ten years to the California Secretary of State. The Commission drew four Board of Equalization districts, 52 Congressional districts, 40 Senatorial districts, and 80 Assembly districts.

It was composed of five Democrats, five Republicans, and four unaffiliated Californians, representing a variety of personal and professional backgrounds and different parts of the state.

Even Dixon will be affected by redistricting for the upcoming District 1 and District 2 City Council seats although unlikely for any major revisions in boundaries such as Thompson’s. The Dixon city-hired consultants are still working on Dixon, but Ernest said there is likely to be very little change since the census was taken before the influx of new residents in the Southwest Development.