I went up to a new state senator yesterday and reminded him that one of our local schools had been promised money for road improvements for the safety of the high school children by the man he was replacing. He looked at me and reminded me that he could not make any real promises because he was now a junior state senator. There was not words to describe the feeling of here we go again.
If I had wanted to hear excesses on my issues than I would talk to my own state senator Cisco McSorley, I would invite Cisco to take a drive down San Mateo but I don’t think it would have much effect on his behavior. We need a real community center in our part of the city. We need a larger library for our children with more books. We need economic redevelopment and something needs to be done about the homeless issue on San Mateo. We need to hold our own state senator accountable for the economic decline in our part of the city. I hold out little hope that he will go along with working with the new state senators to redevelop our area of the city. I foresee our part of the city becoming the next war zone if something is not done in the near future to stop the decline. I am asking State Senator Cisco McSorley to prove me wrong or he will be hearing about it in the next election. I am thinking about spending the weekend out taking pictures for an article of then and now for the next election.
My advice to new state senators is don’t just tell the voting public that you are new and can not make promises. Have the backbone to ask what their issues are and listen to them carefully. Then don’t just promise but work hard to help people who want change for their issues. You are now a state senator and the whole state is your problem not just your little corner of our state. We are not looking for guarantees but we are looking for someone who cares and wants change and is willing to work hard for the issues that matter to the voting public.
Here is a list of my issues:
- Please give us more funding for classrooms and the children because we have enough high paid administration that gets large salaries.
- Better pay for teaching assistances in K-16. Please drop the percentage raises because it is a joke to even think that 2% of $100,000 or more even comes close to 2% of less then $25,000. The issue is compounded even more when you get days off without pay during the year.
- Economic redevelopment in the older parts of the city because I am sick of seeing more and more empty store fronts along San Mateo.
- More funding for mental healthcare for the homeless because these people deserve to be treated like human beings after all think how you would feel if it was a member of your family out on the street. Politicians need to stop telling voters that the mentally ill can make informed decisions when it comes to taking their own medication. They would not be homeless if they had the choice. No I don’t have a family member on the streets but I have met and talked with people who do and those families are pleading for help.
- Drug and alcohol treatment programs for the homeless and low income because it is a matter of humane treatment and may save the life of another mother and child on our roads.
These are all issues well worth fighting for on a state level. We need people in our state government who are willing to go to bat for the voting public and effect real and lasting change at the state and local level. I hope our new state senators fight for some of my issues in the coming year.
