Amador County – A near capacity crowd filled the County Supervisors’ chambers Wednesday in Jackson as State Assemblywoman Alyson Huber hosted her first “Town Hall” meeting in Amador County, since taking office in December. The freshman Assembly member for the 10th District told of her selection to committees and also her disdain for the state budget, saying she voted for a negotiated budget that had enough votes to pass, “but it’s still a bad budget.” She called the state deficit horrible at $8 Billion Dollars, but if upcoming “ballot measures don’t pass,” it will be $14 Billion Dollars. She said “unless we undo the hand-tying we have done,” the state is in for trouble. She then said she wanted to “talk to you about building a Constitutional Convention.” As the crowd went completely quiet, she said: “Nothing quiets a room like that idea.” Huber said some states have Constitutional Conventions every 20 years, but she said California’s 165-page constitution has come to represent special interests, such as out-of-state companies that put initiatives on the ballot, such as a “green technology” that only their own company makes, and the initiative requires the use of that technology. She said she would rather have state legislators arrange the Constitutional Convention and call the shots, than have special interests dictate the forum. Huber said she knows “it’s radical” and “scares a lot of people,” but she was “not advocating for any particular changes.” She said she and Ted Gaines spoke with state water board on the individual septic system legislation, and the board is “pulling back and starting over.” She said she was still gathering information about the proposed Pardee Lake expansion, but she felt that East Bay MUD had “not taken into account local comment and feelings on the issue.” She urged more meetings on the 2040 Plan. She said the project seeks 92 million gallons a day, and they must pick between a dozen different proposed projects, “but they won’t even vote on whether that will happen until 2012 or 2015.” She said she thought underground water storage in the San Joaquin Valley would be a better solution that expanding Pardee. Huber said East Bay MUD “needs to get more vigilant and make sure they hear what we think locally.” Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Friday, 03 April 2009 00:31
Assemblywoman Alyson Huber
Amador County – A near capacity crowd filled the County Supervisors’ chambers Wednesday in Jackson as State Assemblywoman Alyson Huber hosted her first “Town Hall” meeting in Amador County, since taking office in December. The freshman Assembly member for the 10th District told of her selection to committees and also her disdain for the state budget, saying she voted for a negotiated budget that had enough votes to pass, “but it’s still a bad budget.” She called the state deficit horrible at $8 Billion Dollars, but if upcoming “ballot measures don’t pass,” it will be $14 Billion Dollars. She said “unless we undo the hand-tying we have done,” the state is in for trouble. She then said she wanted to “talk to you about building a Constitutional Convention.” As the crowd went completely quiet, she said: “Nothing quiets a room like that idea.” Huber said some states have Constitutional Conventions every 20 years, but she said California’s 165-page constitution has come to represent special interests, such as out-of-state companies that put initiatives on the ballot, such as a “green technology” that only their own company makes, and the initiative requires the use of that technology. She said she would rather have state legislators arrange the Constitutional Convention and call the shots, than have special interests dictate the forum. Huber said she knows “it’s radical” and “scares a lot of people,” but she was “not advocating for any particular changes.” She said she and Ted Gaines spoke with state water board on the individual septic system legislation, and the board is “pulling back and starting over.” She said she was still gathering information about the proposed Pardee Lake expansion, but she felt that East Bay MUD had “not taken into account local comment and feelings on the issue.” She urged more meetings on the 2040 Plan. She said the project seeks 92 million gallons a day, and they must pick between a dozen different proposed projects, “but they won’t even vote on whether that will happen until 2012 or 2015.” She said she thought underground water storage in the San Joaquin Valley would be a better solution that expanding Pardee. Huber said East Bay MUD “needs to get more vigilant and make sure they hear what we think locally.” Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
