Dear Friends,
Thank you for visiting my campaign website. It is an honor to be running for re-election to a second term in office representing California’s 7th Senate District in 2012. As your State Senator, I've worked hard to represent our values in Sacramento.
As Chair of the Assembly and now the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee we were instrumental in initiating the work on the Highway 4 and E-BART expansion in East Contra Costa; drilling on the 4th Bore of the Caldecott tunnel; and the desperately needed repaving improvements along the 680 corridor. Moving people efficiently on our roads and highways equates to greater productivity and quality time for home and loved ones.
One of my main focuses in office has been to reform state government. As Chair of both the Senate Select Committee on Constitutional Reform and Senate Select Committee on Improving State Government, I held hearings throughout the state to analyze various reform principles including multi-year budgeting, performance based budgeting, and initiative reform. As a result of this work, I introduced and the Governor signed SB 15 requiring the state to implement a two-year budget process.
I worked aggressively to try to reach a compromise on Redevelopment and to preserve funding for affordable housing. I also reached out to our local Mayors and established regular meetings with their leadership and our state elected delegation in order to address local government’s concerns regarding the budget and other proposed legislation.
As Chair of the Budget Committee on Health and Human Services, I held hours of hearings to understand how this year’s proposed budget cuts would affect our social safety net and made thoughtful recommendations to minimize the impacts of these cuts to our most vulnerable communities. This Committee will position me to work on California’s Health Care Exchange and move us closer to universal health care.
The cornerstone of our district office operations has been accessibility and providing the highest standard of constituent service. Each month I hold mobile office hours in a different town or city in the district so that I have an opportunity to meet one on one with constituents. I hear firsthand how the downturn in our economy has affected people’s lives and how legislation or regulation impacts their life or business. I also hold regular Town Hall meetings on state governance and our budget process because I believe it’s important for residents to understand how their government works and what they can do to fix it. My district office is always available to help constituents resolve problems with government agencies or other institutions. They have been particularly successful at helping homeowners work with their banks to avoid foreclosure.
Three years into my first term I’m pleased to have successfully authored 35 bills. I have co-authored another 66 bills that were signed into law as well. I am very proud of the work I have accomplished.
We need serious solutions in these challenging economic times. I am committed to continuing our work on state government reforms so that California's legacy is restored. We face a defining moment in our state's history - working together we will make the difficult choices that lie ahead and define what we value as Californians.
I would be honored to have your support.
Always proud to serve,
Mark DeSaulnier