As you settle into your first term as a California assemblymember, what bills or plans do you have in the pipeline? And what plans do you have as the newly appointed Chair of the Human Services Committee?

Our state is slowly recovering from the recession, and for the first time in many years, the California legislature will not have to make drastic cuts to programs that help foster youth, the elderly, and the disabled. While this is good news, these Californians continue to suffer as billions of dollars in budget cuts have decimated essential services they need. As the newly elected assemblymember for the Monterey Bay region, including Santa Cruz, I will focus on building relationships, reaching across the aisle, and crafting effective policy to help improve the lives of the most vulnerable in our communities.

Gov. Jerry Brown recently announced that the state’s budget outlook is finally looking brighter. How could this impact Santa Cruz County?
Many don’t know that more than 50 percent of the county’s operating funds come from the state and federal government. As such, we are highly dependent upon the state’s economic condition to fund our local health and human services, law enforcement, roads and more. Gov. Brown’s state budget proposal is good news in that it stops some of the local hemorrhaging, however it doesn’t appear strong enough that we still won’t face some tough decisions in our local budget. While it is still a few months until the county budget will be prepared, I would expect there will still be cuts in some sectors this year. Hopefully we can minimize the impacts of those cuts on the community.

Looking at the year ahead of us, what issues do you expect to be at the forefront for the city, and how do you plan to address them?

It is an honor and a great privilege to be Mayor of Santa Cruz. We have a strong city council and staff and are prepared to work hard during 2013 to ensure that our city government moves forward with policies and programs that enable our community to thrive. For my part, I intend to focus my efforts in three areas:

One is economic development. Growing our economy is essential to solving so many of the challenges that this city faces every day. In the near-term, we must work to create jobs in Santa Cruz and keep existing jobs in town.

In light of recent debate over The Fiscal Cliff, what is your opinion on how to approach solving these financial problems and “fixing” the economy?

Our economy prospers when the middle class prospers. As we continue to debate our budget priorities, we must remind ourselves that investments in the middle class form a strong foundation on which we can build a robust economy.

I know that because we have been down this road before.

Now that the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission has purchased the Union Pacific Rail line, what is the status of the rail trail project?

The Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) is currently in full swing planning for the Monterey Bay Sanctuary Scenic Trail Network. This project merges plans for a bicycle/pedestrian trail along the rail line that will serve transportation, recreation and interpretive uses for walkers, joggers, bicyclists, families, locals, and visitors.