Assemblyman Cooley Highlights Governor Brown’s Fiscal Responsibility Following 2014 State of the State Address

On Wednesday, January 22, following Governor Jerry Brown’s 2014 State of the State Address, Assemblyman Ken Cooley (D-Rancho Cordova) commended Governor Brown’s fiscal responsibility in using our State’s budget surplus to pay down debt and allocate significant portions toward the Rainy Day Fund.

“I am very happy in the fiscal responsibility Governor Brown has shown in using our budget surplus to relieve our State’s debt while focusing funding towards build up programs that will do a better job to uplift our local communities and neighborhoods.”

“During my service as a councilmember and Mayor for the City of Rancho Cordova, my colleagues and I faced many financial constraints. During those times, we kept our focus on programs that made fiscal sense and made our city a great place to live. We kept our City’s debt low, focused on funding our most important projects first, and made the right choices for the long-term health of our community.”

“Today, I invited Citrus Heights Mayor Mel Turner, and Rancho Cordova Mayor Dan Skoglund, to join me for the address. As they can attest, making the right choices is hard, especially when you have groups of constituents who need help and are faced with great hardships. Choosing short-term gains over long-term progress may feel good, but it is rarely in the best interest of our community as a whole.”

“The Governor struck the right tone today, but we have a lot of work ahead to keep California’s economy moving forward. Like Governor Brown, I believe the best way to maintain our stability and provide future opportunities is to pay down our debt, build up our reserves, and invest in jobs, education and local communities.”

“I applaud Governor Brown for his leadership during these times. Paying down our State’s financial liabilities and putting money away into a rainy day fund is a hard choice, especially when doing so mean other programs will continue to go underfunded. But, this also means our State will have a stronger financial standing, and secure sources of funding for critically important programs in the years to come.”

Assemblyman Ken Cooley represents the 8th Assembly District which includes the communities of Arden- Arcade, Carmichael, Citrus Heights, Foothill Farms, North Highlands, Rancho Cordova, Rosemont, and other portions of unincorporated Sacramento County.