Huber Visits Rosemont for One of Final Meetings

Standing in the cafeteria at James W. Marshall Elementary School on Tuesday, Assemblymember Alyson Huber pointed to a projector screen showing California’s state budget as a large pie chart.

"Where are you to take that kind of money?" she asked, referring to cuts needed to plug the state’s $15.7 billion shortfall this year.

Huber (D-El Dorado Hills), who represents the state’s 10th Assembly District, isn’t running for re-election in 2012 after new state rules changed the shape and size of her district.  But the assemblymember said it was important to have town hall meetings anyway.

"My feeling is, this is the job they pay me to do," Huber said, after the meeting was over. "I’m going to do my job until my term expires on November 30."

About 15 people showed up to the meeting to listen to Huber’s presentation, one of eight meetings she plans to have over the next week.  Before visiting Rosemont on Tuesday, the assemblymember had just come from a similar gathering in Gold River.

During the meeting in Rosement, Huber presented a slideshow that covered several topics, including her legislative agenda during the current Assembly term.  The assemblymember briefly discussed her role as chair of the Joint Sunset Review Committee, which seeks to eliminate government waste and inefficiency, and also her work on legislation to reform the state’s tax code.

Huber also argued for increased education spending, pointing out that California currently ranks near the bottom nationally when it comes to allocating money for schools.

"I’m of the opinion that we’re not spending enough money on education in this state," said Huber.

After the slideshow, the assemblymember answered questions for about 30 minutes from attendees like Eric Leonetti, who asked several questions during the meeting about cuts to public safety agencies.

Leonetti seemed skeptical about some of Huber’s proposals, including her support for Gov. Jerry Brown’s 2012 ballot initiative to raise sales and income taxes, but said he enjoyed attending the assemblymember’s town hall meeting.

"It’s one of the things I like about Alyson," said Leonetti.  "We may not agree on everything, but at least she comes out to face us."

Some of the attendees wished Huber had included more detailed information about the budget.  Cindy Doyel, a district labor council vice president, asked a question during the meeting about government outsourcing to private companies.

"It was good info," said Doyel.  "I was hoping to see more (budget) line items about outsourcing."

Also at the meeting was Ken Cooley, a Rancho Cordova city councilman who is running for the Assembly in 2012.  Cooley has been endorsed by Huber to represent the 8th Assembly District, one of the four new districts created out of her current constituency.

Even though Huber isn’t running this November, Cooley liked the assemblymember’s decision to keep holding town hall meetings.

"I think this sort of thing is tremendously important," Cooley said. "I think we’re in a period of time where we need all hands on deck to discuss how we’re going to build a better democracy in this state."