It's been an honor to serve you

As you know, we had an election on Nov. 5, and due to term limits, I will be leaving office. Carl DeMaio will be your new Assemblyman, and when he officially takes the oath on Dec. 2, my 12 years in the Assembly will come to an end.

Going forward, a lot remains to be done. Since most of our state’s legislators come from the big metropolitan areas – Los Angeles and the Bay Area – making sure they pay attention to the rest of California is a must.

We need to enhance public safety by reducing drug abuse and taking criminals off the street. We also must treat mental illness which contributes to homelessness and crime.

The ongoing wildfire threat locally and throughout the state needs to be addressed with better wildland management and more resources for firefighters. We need to lower the cost of living, and that includes rolling back gas tax increases and energy costs. Less costly and more reliable sources of water are essential for our vast agriculture industry. We need more water storage and conveyance infrastructure, desalination and recycling.

I have long advocated for improved access to healthcare, including mental treatment and growing the provider workforce. Mental health Diversion Courts are just one example. The courts are designed to get mentally ill persons who commit crimes into treatment rather than incarceration, restoring their lives and helping reduce recidivism. But more needs to be done.

And monitoring the California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM) program rollout, which seeks to seamlessly coordinate Medi-Cal with other social services for millions, is still a work in progress.

Serving this district has been the greatest privilege of my career, and I am deeply grateful for your trust and support. I will always cherish the connections we’ve built and the progress we’ve made together. It has been an honor to serve you. God bless.