Kevin Mullin (D-22), continued How was your experience with CCLI helpful in deciding to run for office? Mullin: My experience with CCLI was valuable both in terms of educational content and a way to network. Besides me, eight other members of the 2013–14 class of freshman Assembly members also participated in the institute. Success in policy-making is often based on building trusting relationships. I am hopeful that the voter-enacted reform, which allows newly elected members to serve up to 12 years in one house, will allow members to build better relationships. It was great to see familiar faces from the institute when I was sworn in on Dec. 3, 2012. In all, 39 of us are new to the Assembly and have an opportunity to serve up to 12 years. It is my hope that the opportunity for additional years of service will bring a new sense of stability to the institution of the Assembly and will create opportunities for members to get to know each other. Which of your district’s top two or three issues will be a priority for you? Mullin: I am committed to recreating tools for economic development and affordable housing. Redevelopment was the largest permanent source of funding for affordable housing development. That program no longer exists. Affordable housing finance continues to be a challenge in San Mateo County. In addition, I’ll be working to promote job creation and the innovation economy with a particular focus on bio-tech. I will be a champion of environmentally sustainable regional planning and seek to balance the state budget in a fiscally responsible manner. Finally, I campaigned to work in a bipartisan way to reform state governance. I will reach out to all my colleagues in an attempt to forge compromises and bring a healthier level of discourse to Sacramento.
Rudy Salas (D-32)
Former council member, Bakersfield What do you bring to the Legislature from your experience in local government? Salas: Serving in local government, as I did on the Bakersfield City Council, provided me with real “boots on the ground” knowledge you can’t get any other way. You can’t help learning from and being inspired by the people you interact with at the local level — those who joined me at public meetings, the tireless volunteers who participated in neighborhood graffiti and trash cleanup, and the families I’ve met going door to door or during local neighborhood office hours. When you talk to people like this, you get a feel for what is really important to the community. Things like a balanced budget, improving public safety, looking at education from a grassroots level rather than top down — that’s what matters. I feel if we can be successful locally, we can also succeed on these things at the state level. How was your experience with CCLI helpful in deciding to run for office? Salas: CCLI helped me realize how local government experience can aid tremendously in making decisions at the state level. Working as a local government official with other local elected officials and agencies through collaborative partnerships was invaluable. Our ability to come together to resolve regional issues and address specific concerns toward the common goal of improving our community was vital in moving our cities and our communities forward. Which of your district’s top two or three issues will be a priority for you? Salas: Jobs and economic development, fiscal responsibility, resources for our schools, safer neighborhoods and having a safe, reliable water supply for the Central Valley and the state. We can move our state and our community forward by addressing these important needs, and I look forward to partnering with the League and others in making this happen. ■
Did You Miss Part 1? Read it online at www.westerncity.com
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Western City, May 2013
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