Hollister
– San Benito residents had a chance to bend the ear of State
Assemblywoman Anna Caballero on Friday.
Hollister – San Benito residents had a chance to bend the ear of State Assemblywoman Anna Caballero on Friday.
Caballero, whose legislative district includes San Benito County, spent the day talking to community leaders and touring local institutions.
She told the San Benito County Board of Supervisors that she’s focusing her efforts in Sacramento on reducing gang violence, creating more incentives for the development of affordable housing and “bringing a little sanity” to discussions surrounding last fall’s spinach-related E. coli outbreak.
Caballero said the goal of her visit was to learn more about what she can do for San Benito.
The supervisors ran through a wide range of issues in their discussion, but they returned again and again to the question of funding.
“It comes down to money,” Supervisor Anthony Botelho said. “We’ve got to fight those battles and win some of those battles and get some of those resources into rural California.”
Caballero warned that the state’s budget situation makes it unlikely that local communities will be getting much financial support this year.
“Anything that’s going to cost anything right now is probably not going to get signed,” she said. “But that’s not going to last forever.”
Supervisor Pat Loe told Caballero that with Hollister’s budget problems, the city is in particular need of state support for its gang prevention efforts.
“We need help,” Loe said. “This is not a San Benito County issue; it’s a state issue.”
Caballero noted that she chairs the Assembly’s select committee on youth violence. She said the committee will be developing a list of strategies and “best practices” for combating gang violence.
Supervisor Don Marcus said the county’s economic outlook may be improving with the completion of Hollister’s wastewater treatment plant in 2008. But Marcus added that the county is “going to need every letter and every phone call” to ensure that the state lifts the city’s sewer hookup moratorium as soon as possible.
Supervisor Reb Monaco said he’s particularly disappointed that San Benito’s highways hadn’t received any of the $4.5 billion in state transportation dollars distributed in the first round of Proposition 1B funding. In the past, county leaders had been told that they need to make sure they’re on the same page. But Monaco said, “We did that, and still we got turned down.”
Caballero said she’s still trying to understand local transportation needs and priorities, and will be scheduling future discussions to learn more.
After the meeting, Caballero took a student-led tour of San Benito High School. As Caballero was led through the high school’s halls, she noted that three members of her staff are former Haybalers. That includes Rick Rivas, who heads her office in Sacramento, and his brother Robert, who runs her district office in Salinas.
Caballero’s schedule also included meetings with Sheriff Curtis Hill and Hollister City Manager Clint Quilter, as well as a tour of Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital.
Caballero told the Free Lance that she relies on local leaders to keep her informed about the community’s needs.
“I’m pleased to have this opportunity to meet with the board in a really informal setting,” she said. “That’s going to help me develop a strategy to get state resources for the area.”
Caballero acknowledged that obtaining those state dollars can be a challenge for a rural county like San Benito. After all, Monterey and San Benito counties together account for only two people in the 80-member State Assembly. But she said that if rural representatives work together, they’ll make their voices heard.
“The squeaky wheel gets the grease, so I’m going to make sure I’m squeaking a lot,” Caballero said.
Anthony Ha covers local government for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or [email protected].
