To: Blog Readers
From: Blog Administrator
Pittsburg City Hall, 7:00 - 9:00, last Thursday, 2/16
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1. Overview. The recent Town Hall meeting was a very worthwhile event, in a perfectly comfortable setting, with a great turnout. My guess was around 80 attendees.
2. Mayor Ben Johnson opened the meeting and immediately turned the floor over to the Senator, who filled the fast-moving two hours with his polished PowerPoint presentation -- (see the end of this post). At the end of the meeting, about 10 people took the microphone for questions.
3. My impressions. It was hard to keep good notes, things moved so quickly and were so interesting -- and much was new to me. I hope other attendees will feel free to add their impressions, as comments on this posting.
0. Outline
- Overview
- A Welcome by Mayor Ben Johnson
- My Impressions
- The Senator's Presentation
- Pamphlets and Handouts He Brought With Him
- The Senator's Powerpoint Presentation Handout Guide
1. Overview. The recent Town Hall meeting was a very worthwhile event, in a perfectly comfortable setting, with a great turnout. My guess was around 80 attendees.
- There were about 15 or so people with learning and physical disabilities -- along with the group of dedicated souls who accompanied them, as non-profit organization staff. 3 or 4 speakers were severely disabled, but displayed inspiring warmth, courage, and spirit.
- The meeting was video-taped by both the City's and Senator's teams. Viewing should become available, on-line, soon.
- By the way, here is a site-link for Futures-Explored.org -- the non-profit which organized these particular attendees.
- Overall, I think Senator DeSaulnier was made to feel quite welcome, as evidenced by the appreciative round of applause that sounded when his work was done.
2. Mayor Ben Johnson opened the meeting and immediately turned the floor over to the Senator, who filled the fast-moving two hours with his polished PowerPoint presentation -- (see the end of this post). At the end of the meeting, about 10 people took the microphone for questions.
- Then, the Mayor commented on the night's fine turnout and on how very great it feels to have the public show up and help share the burden of governing (not exactly his words, but I think that was the gist).
3. My impressions. It was hard to keep good notes, things moved so quickly and were so interesting -- and much was new to me. I hope other attendees will feel free to add their impressions, as comments on this posting.
- Significantly, the Senator began his talk, detailing "what is right about California" (please see page 2, of his handout, below)
- Thankfully, we received handouts which replicated each on-screen slide, so we could follow along.
- A copy of his PowerPoint presentation-handout is included at the bottom of this posting.
Snippets from his talk, which I did manage to capture, included:
- The Senator moves around the 7th District, giving this talk to different communities.
- The Senator also conducts a mobile "District House" -- usually on Saturdays, where he is available for one-on-one contacts with constituents.
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THE NEXT TWO "one-on-one's" are at:
(1) The San Ramon Alcosta Senior and Community Center,
9300 Alcosta Blvd, San Ramon, 2/25/Sat, 10:00 am - 1:00 pm -- and
(2) Orinda Intermediate School, 80 Ivy Drive, Orinda, 3/3/Sat.
(2) Orinda Intermediate School, 80 Ivy Drive, Orinda, 3/3/Sat.
(no appointment is necessary for either, but you may call
925-942-6082 for more info)
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- State committees fall into two main areas: "policy" and "fiscal."
- Before entering politics, the Senator operated his own successful business for years.
- This year 15 of 17 bills he prepared were signed by the Governor -- a very respectable 88%.
- He mentioned the "Eastbay Economic Development Alliance" as having an excellent site for comparing the performance and nature of cities of the State.
- This is the 100th anniversary of California's "initiative" system which was instituted to counteract the early awesome power of the Railroads over the state. This initiative-system allows members of the public to petition directly, to place propositions on the ballot. The only other way to do this is by the State Legislature. As I understand it, California is the only state to have this form of legislative tool -- direct public legislation.
Here are FANTASTIC relevant links to:
(1) "Ballotpedia -- an interactive almanac of state politics" and
(2) "History of Initiative and Referendum in California"
(1) "Ballotpedia -- an interactive almanac of state politics" and
(2) "History of Initiative and Referendum in California"
- He said it typically costs $1 million to $3 million to gather signatures to get on the ballot.
- He reminded us, among other things, that the legislature has 40 senators -- 25 Democrats and 15 Republicans.
- He also made reference to the US Congress's "Maplight" website which watchdogs legislative donations. It deals with "revealing money's influence on politics." (very eye-opening)
4. The Senator's Presentation. It was extremely pleasing to see and feel this example of "democracy in action." Clearly, the Senator is a dedicated, hard-working official with many key duties at the State House and around his/our District.
- I don't feel particularly qualified to encapsulate his words for you, but the big thing, I think, is that he strives to be accessible and provide a wealth of useful information on-line and in person -- and a ready ear for his constituents.
- Afterwards, I felt better informed, with a reinforced sense that the State's difficult problems are being addressed, methodically, and that the decision-making process is quite sound, under the circumstances.
- It was clear that citizen turnout matters to him a great deal in performance of his duties. He has, no doubt, heard much of our feedback before, but the various audience speakers clearly made favorable impressions on him -- and did alert him with new and useful information.
5. Pamphlets and Handouts he brought with him -- this is just a list (with some links)-- sorry, it's not practical for me to scan these in, just yet -- I am looking into getting digitized brochures, from the original sources -- we'll see.
| Domestic Violence | |
| Keeping California's Families Healthy | Your Guide to the Healthy Families Program |
| California's Unemployment Insurance Program | |
| Child Abuse | |
| The Senator's Constituent Services (English & Spanish) | Office of Senator Mark DeSaulnier |
| California Government On-Line (English & Spanish) | Office of Senator Mark DeSaulnier |
| Prestamos de Dia de Pago | |
| The Budget Process -- A Citizen's Guide to Participation | |
| Public Banking -- It's our money -- we should own the bank | |
| 2011 - 2012 Legislative Package | Office of Senator Mark DeSaulnier |
| The Senator's Biography | Office of Senator Mark DeSaulnier |
| District Office Internship Program -- to involve college students in daily government operations | Office of Senator Mark DeSaulnier |
Also, outside City Hall, petitioners passed out literature pertaining to The Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE), Contra Costa County branch.
Respectfully yours,
Respectfully yours,
David Nelson
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6. THE SENATOR'S POWER-POINT PRESENTATION HANDOUT GUIDE
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