State Assembly District 15: Alamo incumbent is clearly the choice for voters over Republican Abram Wilson
MediaNews editorial
Contra Costa Times
Posted:10/24/2010 12:01:00 AM PDT
TWO YEARS ago, when Democrat Joan Buchanan ran against Republican Abram Wilson for what was then an open seat in the state Assembly, we were deeply concerned about both candidates and endorsed Wilson with great reservation.
Today, Assemblywoman Buchanan of Alamo once again faces Wilson, still the mayor of San Ramon, in the Bay Area's most competitive legislative race. Much has changed. Buchanan has grown in the job, demonstrates a deep understanding of state issues, works hard for constituents and has proven she can reach across the political aisle.
Wilson, on the other hand, responds to questions with meandering, vacuous answers. He has no substantive ideas for fixing the state budget crisis. And the one key trait he once again offered up -- fiscal conservatism -- has turned out to be a big lie when it comes to his management in his own city.
This year, it wasn't nearly as tough a decision. We endorse Buchanan.
She has become aware that the costs of employee pensions, prisons and mounting debt service are strangling the state budget. She says the state shouldn't add programs without making equal cuts. And she calls for long-range budgeting that honestly deals with the fiscal crisis.
This year, she tried to address pension spiking abuses by co-authoring a well-intentioned bill, only to see the legislation hijacked by Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, D-San Francisco. Ma's labor-written amendments made the bill unpalatable for us and for Buchanan, who pulled her support until some of the most egregious provisions were fixed. The governor vetoed the bill and Buchanan, who now better understands complex public employee retirements, plans to try again.
Last election, we were seriously troubled by Buchanan's insistence that salaries and other compensation of individual public employees should be kept private -- a position in conflict with this paper's successful state Supreme Court fight to make it public. Buchanan now acknowledges that, in the aftermath of the infamous Bell pay scandal, the ability to match employee names to salaries is reasonable. While often voting with fellow Democrats, Buchanan shows some discriminating independence. She refused to back bills increasing business reporting requirements and to sunset business tax credits after seven years. She didn't support a bill to pay farmworkers overtime after eight hours instead of the current 10. She bucked her party by voting against a much-maligned gasoline tax swap scheme to manufacture money for the budget, and she opposed state borrowing from redevelopment agencies.
She was one of two Democrats to vote against a teacher union-backed bill that would have made student inter-district transfers harder. Unlike many of her fellow Democrats, she voted to roll back pension benefits for new state employees to pre-1999 levels.
Conversely, although Wilson told us he would work in a bipartisan fashion, he could not name a bill on which he would have opposed his own party had he been in office. We heard many platitudes about being open-minded, but no specifics on policy.
The final straw for us was Wilson's insistence that "egregious" public employee pension spiking must be stopped. We certainly agree. Unfortunately, Wilson hasn't practiced what he preaches.
The San Ramon mayor defends paying his city manager a jaw-dropping $344,200 a year, tops in the state, according to a new salary survey by the League of California Cities in which 90 percent of municipalities responded.
Worse, Wilson seemed to have no idea how that exorbitant salary would inflate City Manager Herb Moniz's pension. Wilson was ignorant of basic details of the contract he personally signed as mayor.
Our elected officials must be informed on the issues and lead by example. Wilson failed both tests.
Lack of health coverage prompts providers to offer free screenings
Methodist Hospital and numerous organizations gathered at Valley Hi Country Club in Elk Grove on Oct. 2 for a Women's Health Expo.
Assembly Member Joan Buchanan and District Director Susanna Schlendorf were in attendance to show their support for women's health issues.
"We now have 25 percent of our population here in California with no health insurance," Buchanan said. "To be able to provide a service like this in conjunction with Mercy Hospital…. (is) great community outreach and wonderful for those who find themselves without health insurance."
Davis begins community service project
Three candidates from local and state races visited McConnell Park at the early hour of 8 a.m. to dig up or hack away overgrown weeds at a softball field on Sept. 25.
Seven other volunteers, some neighbors, joined Elk Grove City Council Member Gary Davis, State Assembly Member Joan Buchanan, and Rod Brewer, a candidate for the Cosumnes Community Services District (CSD) that morning.
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www.egcitizen.com/articles/2010/09/30/news/doc4ca4ca523bd45246957088.txt
One client delivers rousing speech
The national recession has officially ended. However, the thousands of people depending on the assistance of the Elk Grove Food Bank Services know the struggle is far from over.
Under the leadership of Executive Director Marie Jachino and the many volunteers and community members who donate time and money, the food bank has been able to lend a helping hand to locals in need.
A dinner reception at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Elk Grove on Sept. 20 honored those volunteers and others who have allowed the food bank to be a beacon of hope for people who have suffered losses due to the economy.
ALAMO -- The candidates in what may be the Bay Area's most hotly contested state legislative district faced off in a debate Friday, touching on issues such as jobs, schools, taxes, water and their track records.
Incumbent Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan, D-Alamo, said she has been an effective advocate for the 15th Assembly District in her first term, and vowed to work to create jobs and support local businesses; oppose more education cuts; enact performance-based budgeting; and protect the Delta's ecology and Northern California's water rights.ALAMO -- The candidates in what may be the Bay Area's most hotly contested state legislative district faced off in a debate Friday, touching on issues such as jobs, schools, taxes, water and their track records. Incumbent Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan...
Republican nominee Abram Wilson said that in his eight years as San Ramon's mayor, he has turned around that city's structural deficit, inadequate cash reserves and poor relations with its business community, and he'd now like to do the same for the 15th District and the rest of California.
The two met before about 70 members of the Contra Costa Council -- a business-based public policy advocacy group -- at a luncheon in the Round Hill Country Club, moderated by Bay Area News Group's Lisa Vorderbrueggen.
Wilson -- whom Buchanan defeated for the Assembly seat two years ago -- went on the attack early, noting she voted for tax increases.
"My opponent says it's performance, not politics," he said, "but for the last two years she has only shown us politics."
Wilson called for implementing a state spending cap and "sunsetting" all state programs so lawmakers can review their cost-effectiveness, with no sacred cows; he didn't provide specifics on how that could be accomplished. But he said it's crucial to defend the two-thirds majority legislative votes needed for taxes and budgets.
Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan, a Democrat who represents Pleasanton's 15th Assembly District, is starting off her campaign by hitting the streets.Buchanan is holding the walk event in honor of Patriot Day and in remembrance of the victims of Sept. 11, 2001...
At 10:30 a.m., this morning, she'll embark on a community walk starting at 2694 Bishop Drive, Ste. 121 (Bishop Ranch 2) in San Ramon.
Buchanan is holding the walk event in honor of Patriot Day and in remembrance of the victims of Sept. 11, 2001.
For more information and to RSVP, call 06-0560 or visit www.joanbuchanan.com.
Excerpted from: www.insidebayarea.com.
State Schools Chief Jack O'Connell Urges Governor to Sign Education Funding Bills Into Law Before Going on Asia Trade Mission
SACRAMENTO – State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell today urged Governor Schwarzenegger to sign into law Senate Bill (SB) 847 and Assembly Bill (AB) 185 before he leaves the state tomorrow to embark on a trade mission to Asia. The two bills authorize the state to distribute federal education funds and will take effect immediately upon his signature.Education (CDE) with the authority to allocate $1.2 billion from the federal Education Jobs Fund to school districts. SB 847 is estimated to save 16,500 education jobs in California. These funds will be distributed based on the state’s revenue limit...
“Federal and state lawmakers worked quickly to pass laws that would provide millions in critically needed funds to save education jobs in California,” said O’Connell. “Yet the Governor has not even requested SB 847 and AB 185 from the Legislature so that he can sign them into law.
“California's students and teachers are already bearing the brunt of billions in budget cuts in the past few years, and they should not have to wait until the Governor gets back from his trip in mid-September to begin this funding process. I urge him to request the bills from the Legislature and sign them now, so we can distribute the funds to schools as quickly as possible.”
California’s Constitution requires that without a state budget, any appropriation bill, like SB 847 and AB 185, may not be sent to the Governor. That’s unless the Governor requests them by a formal letter. Once that happens, the Legislature would send the Governor the bill immediately.
SB 847 was coauthored by state Senate President pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) and Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez (D-Los Angeles). The measure provides the California Department of Education (CDE) with the authority to allocate $1.2 billion from the federal Education Jobs Fund to school districts. SB 847 is estimated to save 16,500 education jobs in California. These funds will be distributed based on the state’s revenue limit formulas.
Medical marijuana buyers' clubs and dispensaries would be prohibited from being within 600 feet of public or private school under legislation on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s desk.
Through local zoning ordinances, cities and counties already have the ability to restrict where various types of establishments are located. Los Angles, for example, faces court challenges over an ordinance that took effect in June that will close 439 marijuana collectives and forbids any remaining ones to be located within 1,000 feet of a school or another dispensary.So far, the state has not inserted itself into local land use decision-making on the issue. “As medical marijuana dispensaries continue to open throughout the state, they are increasingly located near schools and parks, public libraries and child care...
More than 40 cities and counties have passed ordinances regulating the activities of dispensaries— limits on plants and buds, for example. Several other cities including Walnut Creek and Danville, have passed local laws restricting dispensary locations. Berkeley restricts dispensaries from being within 1,000 feet of a school.
So far, the state has not inserted itself into local land use decision-making on the issue.
“As medical marijuana dispensaries continue to open throughout the state, they are increasingly located near schools and parks, public libraries and child care facilities,” wrote Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan, a San Ramon Democrat in justification for her bill, AB 2650.
“To keep medical marijuana dispensaries from further encroaching from (sic) places where children and families congregate, we believe we need to keep them a measured distance from these locations.”
State law currently prohibits a variety of activities within 1,000 feet of a school. Tobacco advertising on billboards is one. Possession of gun is another. Sex offenders cannot live within 1,000 feet of a school. Drug dealing within 1,000 feet of a school carries a harsher sentence.
Buchanan’s bill originally was a measure on medical treatment of inmates by Assemblyman Alberto Torrico, a Fremont Democrat.
Televised round-tables show candidates to voters
Contra Costa's election season has officially kicked into gear with the traditional taping of Election Previews 2010, televised face-to-face showdowns among the nearly 100 candidates vying for East Bay offices.Unfortunately, the Republican challengers to Democratic Assembly District 11 nominee Susan Bonilla and Democratic District 15 Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan said they were too busy to participate. The women had their shows to themselves. But the vast...
Incumbents and challengers in 24 congressional, legislative, countywide, city and school board races met at Contra Costa TV studios in Martinez this week during a three-day recording marathon. By far, the prevailing theme among the city and school board candidates was a lack of money and the prospect of even deeper cutbacks in their already strained public services. A few embraced new taxes that would stave off some of the worst reductions but most seemed resigned, if successful on Nov. 2, to more rough budget times ahead.
Reps. George Miller, John Garamendi and Jerry McNerney sat with their opponents during 30-minute segments devoted to each district, where they aired their views on everything from Wall Street reform to paying for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Unfortunately, the Republican challengers to Democratic Assembly District 11 nominee Susan Bonilla and Democratic District 15 Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan said they were too busy to participate. The women had their shows to themselves.
But the vast majority of the candidates in the races selected for inclusion in Election Previews 2010 participated in a round-table format that included questions from moderator and Contra Costa Times political columnist Lisa Vorderbrueggen, and an opportunity to make direct and free television appeals to the voters.
The races were selected by a priority-ranking formula based on the type of race -- federal, state, countywide, cities, schools and special districts -- and the number of registered voters. The production sponsors lacked sufficient funding to record round-tables for all 74 races that will appear on ballots in Contra Costa County.
Aug. 28, 2010 - Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on August 10 signed Assembly Bill 1265 (Caballero and Jeffries), a measure that would delay the controversial $11.14 billion water bond until November 2012.
Schwarzenegger signed the bill to delay Proposition 18 the day after it passed through the Assembly on a 54-22 vote – the bare minimum required for a two-thirds vote. The Senate approved the measure on a 27-7 vote earlier that day.Assemblymember Jared Huffman, who led the charge in the Assembly to pass last year's water package, was a vocal opponent of now delaying the bond. Legislators of both parties, including the entire Delta delegation of Democrats Mariko Yamada and Joan...
In contrast with usual plethora of press releases, photos and video clips that the Governor’s Office sends to media outlets whenever he signs a bill, the bill signing was only indicated by a terse announcement from his office that AB 1265 and a companion measure, AB 1260 (Fuller) had been signed. AB 1260 specifies that the newly-appointed members of the California Water Commission, the panel charged with allocating funding for surface storage projects if the bond is approved by voters, are to serve a four-year term expiring in May 2014.
The lack of support by Californians for Schwarzenegger's water bond spurred the Legislature to delay this measure, so there wasn't really any way that the Governor and his publicists could spin this as a "victory." Bond opponents, who campaigned for the outright repeal of the bond, still consider the delay a huge victory for environmental justice, imperiled Central Valley salmon and Delta fish populations and all Californians.
“In the end, the push to postpone the bond to 2012 passed by the smallest of margins,” said Elanor Starmer of Food and Water Watch, who described the vote as a situation of “when a loss is still a victory.”
“It's not what bond opponents wanted,” Starmer stated. “Ideally, the legislature would have seen the light and scrapped it altogether, or let the voters pull the plug this November so we could get to work on better approaches.”
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