Hollister
– Freshman Assemblywoman Anna Caballero has been in Sacramento
for almost a year now, where she represents San Benito County and
part of Monterey County. Caballero swung by Hollister on Thursday,
and the Free Lance stole a few minutes of her time to talk about
state politics – especially the sta
te budget, which has been delayed by more than a month – and its
impact on Hollister.
Hollister – Freshman Assemblywoman Anna Caballero has been in Sacramento for almost a year now, where she represents San Benito County and part of Monterey County. Caballero swung by Hollister on Thursday, and the Free Lance stole a few minutes of her time to talk about state politics – especially the state budget, which has been delayed by more than a month – and its impact on Hollister.
FL: You’ve been in office a little while now. Are you feeling pretty happy with how things are going?
Caballero: Generally, yes. I’m worried, right now, we don’t have a state budget. We need one vote in the Senate, so I’m asking everyone to give our senator (Jeff Denham) a call. Because cities, counties, hospitals, clinics, school districts, colleges are not receiving their money. And while many of them can weather a month, to try weathering two months is very difficult.
FL: Are you surprised that it’s dragged out this long?
Caballero: I’m very surprised. This is my first budget, but it’s one of those things where the Assembly worked very hard. It does not make me happy. There are some things I thought we should fund there, but it’s a compromise, and that’s required in order to get a two-thirds vote.
FL: You’re chairing the Assembly’s Select Task Force on Youth Violence. What are some of the things the task force has accomplished so far?
Caballero: We’ve held three hearings, one in Los Angeles, one in Salinas, one in Oakland. The hearings in those places were to hear from the local communities about what they’re doing and some of the issues that they’re facing. And what we heard is, first of all, which I knew, is that there’s no statewide priority to reduce youth violence in a prevention mode. Secondly, that there are problems with local areas, whether it’s L.A. or Monterey County, in terms of coordinating services, sharing information, accountability, knowing what best practices work and sustainability. Now what we wanted to do is hear from the state, from the different departments.
It’s a huge issue. We’re going to continue to have hearings. This year we were able to get $9.5 million in the budget specifically for prevention at the local level. That’s very exciting, it’s the only thing new in the budget.
FL: Hopefully in the budget.
Caballero: (laughs) Yes, it’s hopefully in the budget, that’s exactly right. It’s there now, whether it’ll stay or not I don’t know.
FL: Have you been able to handle being in Sacramento and still keep your finger on the pulse of local concerns?
Caballero: The really good thing is I’ve been involved in local government for so long that I know almost everyone who serves on the city councils in the district that I represent. Would I like to be in the district more? Absolutely. It’s one of my biggest frustrations. But I’ve tried really hard to try to get my staff out in the community and attending things.
I’ve spent the last two weeks going from one community to another to let them know, “You may not see me Monday through Thursday during the session, which is January to September, but if you’ve got things that are going on, let me know.”
FL: Is there anything else that people should know about what you’re doing in Sacramento?
Caballero: The really good thing is that there are two areas where I’ve spent a lot of time and energy working on. One is the youth violence prevention. The other area is affordable housing. I’ve got a bill that focuses on affordable housing and parks, so that if you’re building housing, you’re eligible for park money, which is very difficult to get your hands on.
If you’re doing all the things the state says you should do – have a general plan, certified housing element, you’re building affordable housing – you make an application, you get money. If you’re not building, you’re not going to get money. So one of the things that’s going to be really important for Hollister is to get this moratorium taken care of.
To have a freshman legislator that has bills that are still alive after all this time is a big accomplishment. I’m really proud of that.
Anthony Ha covers local government for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or
ah*@fr***********.com
.
