The Establishment and the Carb: Coffee with Mike McGuire

Asking the difficult question
by Allan Stellar | Posted January 11, 2026
Sen. Mike McGuire is running for the seat once occupied by Rep. Doug LaMalfa in a district that has been redrawn. Photo by Allan Stellar.

Editor: Mike McGuire of Healdsburg, Audrey Denney of Chico and Kyle Wilson of Santa Rosa are running for Congress to represent the redrawn District 1 that includes Butte County.

A couple of days ago, I received a text from the Mike McGuire campaign asking if I wanted to attend an event. I was curious about Mike, so I followed the link, where I found I had to “apply” to attend by providing my name and a sample question.

I filled out the form, providing various forms of identification. The question I submitted was: “Can he think outside of the box?” read more

Congressman Doug LaMalfa dies in 7th term

Longtime Rep. LaMalfa was controversial in Chico
by Leslie Layton | Posted January 6, 2026
Congressman LaMalfa at the Chico town hall in August 2025. Photo courtesy of Karen Laslo.

District 1’s congressman, 65-year-old rice farmer Doug LaMalfa, died early today after suffering an aneurysm and heart attack, according to media reports.

The Richvale Republican was serving his seventh term in the House in a district that has a conservative voter majority and includes rural North State counties like Butte, Yuba, Shasta and Siskiyou. LaMalfa had served on  the Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Transportation committees and was a steadfast Trump loyalist. read more