A few months back, I sent out a questionnaire to people throughout the 12th Senate District. I asked a lot of questions about the policy issues that I vote on when I’m up in Sacramento. To be a good representative, I believe it’s important to get input from the people affected by these policies.
Over 6,000 people from all over the 12th District responded to the survey, with responses coming from everywhere from Salinas, to Hollister, to Dos Palos, Modesto and Merced.
I was encouraged by the response many citizens had to the state’s current budget situation. Over 75 percent of respondents said the state needs to cut the bureaucracy, implement a spending cap and bring more accountability to the budget process through “zero-based” budgeting.
There was also strong opposition to any type of tax increase – with over two-thirds of respondents saying that they did not believe tax increases should be used to resolve the budget deficit. Please know that I share these views.
The other key part of the survey allowed people to rank issues in order of importance. About 24 percent of voters said that education was the most important issue for them, with no other single issue even coming close in importance. One of the first committees I requested to be appointed to was the Senate Education Committee. I have authored bills to reform in-school suspension, aid employees at the University of California, and protect students from tuition increases.
Other questionnaire results included strong support for workers compensation reform, and more bond money going to water storage. There was also equally strong opposition to giving drivers licenses to undocumented workers, more stringent air quality regulations, and sexually violent predators being dumped on rural California.
Again, I want to thank everyone who took the time to share their views with me. If you would like to see the full survey results, please feel free to visit my Senate web site at www.senate.ca.gov/denham.
Sen. Jeff Denham, R-Merced, represents the 12th Senate District, including San Benito County.
