WEBVTT - Capítulo 233: Senator Sasha Renee Perez 0:00:00.480 --> 0:00:07.680 Look already, Ola La, I'm Viosa and I'm Mala. Today 0:00:08.000 --> 0:00:12.560 we have an interview with Senator Sasha Renee Betiz of 0:00:12.680 --> 0:00:14.760 Ahambra Enjoy. 0:00:15.080 --> 0:00:17.120 Just got sworn in. This is your first year in office. 0:00:17.239 --> 0:00:20.680 Yeah as a senator. You were the mayor of Alhambra previously, 0:00:20.800 --> 0:00:23.680 But as a California State Senator, where is your drive 0:00:23.920 --> 0:00:26.400 to work? At one hundred and fifty percent coming from? 0:00:26.560 --> 0:00:31.159 I feel this deep sense of responsibility I think to 0:00:31.360 --> 0:00:35.159 my community, right. I mean, you know, I've been in 0:00:35.200 --> 0:00:38.920 the SGV my whole life, right, and I think being 0:00:38.920 --> 0:00:41.720 a kid that's that's from my community. And seeing the 0:00:41.720 --> 0:00:44.840 pain that we just went through with the fires, and 0:00:44.840 --> 0:00:46.879 seeing the pain that folks are going through now with 0:00:46.960 --> 0:00:50.720 this new federal administration, and having people approach me and 0:00:50.760 --> 0:00:55.000 say I'm depending on you and I'm scared about what 0:00:55.080 --> 0:00:59.360 this moment presents, really drives me to want to do more, 0:00:59.440 --> 0:01:02.640 to do every thing I can. I work seven days 0:01:02.640 --> 0:01:07.280 a week, NonStop, and I also love what I do, 0:01:07.720 --> 0:01:10.920 like very deeply, so it doesn't feel like work. Today 0:01:10.959 --> 0:01:12.600 is supposed to be my day off. I worked all 0:01:12.680 --> 0:01:16.479 day and I feel a real deep sense of commitment 0:01:16.760 --> 0:01:17.800 to the work. 0:01:18.840 --> 0:01:21.360 And tell us about the district you represent, the San 0:01:21.440 --> 0:01:25.440 Gabriel Valley and tell us about who your constituents are 0:01:25.520 --> 0:01:27.560 for anyone not familiar with that area. 0:01:27.760 --> 0:01:31.440 Yeah, So the SGV is a place that is so 0:01:31.440 --> 0:01:33.600 special to my heart, right outside of the City of 0:01:33.600 --> 0:01:38.960 Los Angeles. That includes communities like al hambram Honree Parks, 0:01:39.000 --> 0:01:45.199 and Gabriel, Rosemead Temple City that are predominantly API. You'll 0:01:45.240 --> 0:01:48.600 hear researchers sometimes refer to it as an Ethno burb 0:01:48.760 --> 0:01:54.320 because you have API folks that have basically created a 0:01:55.640 --> 0:02:00.960 suburb that is almost entirely you know, diverse, right, rather 0:02:01.000 --> 0:02:03.160 than kind of when you think about these suburbs, I 0:02:03.160 --> 0:02:05.320 think people tend to think of white folks, and this 0:02:05.400 --> 0:02:10.440 is a predominantly Asian American Pacific Islander community. And then 0:02:10.639 --> 0:02:14.760 you have the northern part of my district, right Altadena, Pasadena, 0:02:15.480 --> 0:02:17.760 which has recently gained a lot of tension, that has 0:02:17.840 --> 0:02:23.359 this huge historically black community. You have Latino communities all 0:02:23.360 --> 0:02:27.680 throughout parts of Pasadena, parts of Glendale, even parts of Alhambra, 0:02:28.600 --> 0:02:31.480 and in Glendale a huge Armenian community, one of the 0:02:31.560 --> 0:02:35.360 largest actually in the entire nation. So my district is 0:02:35.400 --> 0:02:38.160 one of the most diverse in the state. It's also 0:02:38.200 --> 0:02:41.399 one of the only districts that does not have one 0:02:41.480 --> 0:02:45.120 single racial majority. We're made up of a lot of 0:02:45.160 --> 0:02:48.000 different folks and I think that's what makes you know 0:02:48.160 --> 0:02:51.480 the area, the San Gabriel Valley so unique. 0:02:51.720 --> 0:02:53.760 Absolutely, And I want to remind our listeners that we 0:02:53.800 --> 0:02:56.919 had a guest Bianca maboute Luis who talked about Ethno 0:02:56.960 --> 0:03:01.000 Burbs and this is maybe during season nine, So I 0:03:01.120 --> 0:03:03.120 just want to kind of call back to that because 0:03:03.160 --> 0:03:04.040 you mentioned. 0:03:03.720 --> 0:03:07.320 It per book Unassimilable. Yes, yes, and very much writing 0:03:07.400 --> 0:03:11.680 about the retention of culture and language in the San 0:03:11.720 --> 0:03:12.440 Gabriel Valley. 0:03:12.480 --> 0:03:13.120 Oh, I love that. 0:03:13.280 --> 0:03:17.440 Yeah, and how assimilation has not been the goal or 0:03:17.480 --> 0:03:22.160 the driving life force for those communities there. So I'm wondering, 0:03:23.240 --> 0:03:25.359 let's go back recap for our listeners. We did an 0:03:25.360 --> 0:03:28.120 interview with you during the pandemic when you became the 0:03:28.120 --> 0:03:32.960 mayor pro tem of al Hambra. Tell us about becoming 0:03:32.960 --> 0:03:35.560 mayor of Alhambra and then how that led you in 0:03:35.600 --> 0:03:39.040 one way or another to now you're holding office as 0:03:39.080 --> 0:03:40.600 California State Senator. Yeah. 0:03:41.840 --> 0:03:46.680 Yeah, it's it's crazy because that feels like eons ago 0:03:46.760 --> 0:03:50.360 now first running for office. You know, when I ran 0:03:50.680 --> 0:03:55.280 for the City of Alhambra to run for council, it 0:03:55.360 --> 0:03:57.000 was really at a point in my life when I 0:03:57.240 --> 0:04:00.200 think I felt really fed up and really angry. To 0:04:00.240 --> 0:04:04.120 be perfectly honest, I had just lost, you know, my 0:04:04.280 --> 0:04:07.480 cousin who had passed away after being chronically homeless for 0:04:07.600 --> 0:04:13.040 most of his life and the year before, and I think, 0:04:13.040 --> 0:04:17.400 through going to therapy and really reflecting on what that 0:04:17.520 --> 0:04:21.200 meant and the frustration I felt with the system, I 0:04:21.240 --> 0:04:23.479 came out of that saying, you know, I'd want to 0:04:23.480 --> 0:04:25.279 step out from being behind the scenes. I had worked 0:04:25.279 --> 0:04:27.840 in policy my whole life, and I want to start 0:04:27.880 --> 0:04:32.120 being the decision maker because I felt like those voices 0:04:32.160 --> 0:04:37.120 weren't represented at the table. And I saw the homelessness crisis, 0:04:37.120 --> 0:04:38.479 and I felt like it was so clear to me 0:04:38.520 --> 0:04:41.760 what was coming now. I could have never predicted that 0:04:41.800 --> 0:04:44.240 a pandemic was on its way that was certainly going 0:04:44.279 --> 0:04:47.680 to exacerbate the situation, and that's exactly what ended up happening. 0:04:48.320 --> 0:04:52.320 And so I started running in twenty twenty, and we'd 0:04:52.320 --> 0:04:55.800 go into shutdown mode, and all of a sudden, I 0:04:55.960 --> 0:04:59.920 have hundreds of people contacting me through my website saying 0:05:00.080 --> 0:05:01.640 I don't know how I'm going to pay my rent, 0:05:01.760 --> 0:05:03.440 I don't know how I'm going to pay for food. 0:05:04.480 --> 0:05:07.320 And it was like this shocking moment. I think I 0:05:07.400 --> 0:05:11.520 had prepared myself for people attacking me and calling me 0:05:11.760 --> 0:05:15.039 like me names, and I realized that that doesn't bug 0:05:15.120 --> 0:05:17.440 me at all. But when somebody looks you in the 0:05:17.480 --> 0:05:21.080 eye and says I'm depending on you because I don't 0:05:21.120 --> 0:05:23.800 know what's going to happen next, and I'm scared who 0:05:24.360 --> 0:05:28.920 that hits in a different way, and I suddenly felt 0:05:28.960 --> 0:05:31.960 I think that sense of responsibility I was talking about earlier, 0:05:32.000 --> 0:05:34.640 of like I don't just want to do this, I 0:05:34.720 --> 0:05:39.560 need to do this, and it just really kind of changed. 0:05:40.080 --> 0:05:43.839 I think everything for me and my campaign just became 0:05:43.880 --> 0:05:47.680 about mailers and other things, but answering people's questions that 0:05:47.720 --> 0:05:51.800 they had about tenant protections and learning all these different 0:05:51.839 --> 0:05:54.880 county and city and state laws that were getting passed 0:05:54.880 --> 0:05:57.000 so that I could better interpret to people the law. 0:05:57.640 --> 0:06:01.520 So i've and then I and I defeated the incumbent 0:06:01.600 --> 0:06:04.880 by sixty points. I mean, it was crazy, so to 0:06:06.120 --> 0:06:10.280 come out on the other side of that, and you know, 0:06:10.360 --> 0:06:14.200 and then to be in office and to be delivering 0:06:14.240 --> 0:06:16.599 for my community. And then all of a sudden we 0:06:16.640 --> 0:06:19.839 had the redistricting process happen and All Hambra got moved 0:06:19.880 --> 0:06:22.520 into the Senate district and people started talking with me 0:06:22.520 --> 0:06:25.280 about running for Senate. And I will be honest with you, 0:06:25.800 --> 0:06:28.280 I was like, these folks are not going to vote 0:06:28.279 --> 0:06:31.280 for me. I was like some you know, little brown 0:06:31.320 --> 0:06:34.040 renter girl from all Hambra, Like this is not They're 0:06:34.200 --> 0:06:36.560 not going to want to elect someone like me. And 0:06:36.640 --> 0:06:40.520 this group called Close the Gap, who's dedicated to electing 0:06:40.520 --> 0:06:43.799 women to office. They just kept on trying to convince 0:06:43.839 --> 0:06:46.599 me for almost a year, and they sat down and 0:06:46.600 --> 0:06:49.120 they'd show me data, and they'd bring me and sit 0:06:49.200 --> 0:06:51.400 me down to lunch and have me talk to consultants. 0:06:51.440 --> 0:06:53.719 And I was just like, I don't think that this 0:06:53.920 --> 0:06:57.840 is viable. And then I left to Chile and was 0:06:57.880 --> 0:07:00.400 in South America for a month and I just sat 0:07:00.440 --> 0:07:02.960 down and I thought about it, and I thought, if 0:07:03.000 --> 0:07:06.119 I don't try to do it, I'm going to wonder 0:07:06.160 --> 0:07:08.080 for the rest of my life what would have happened. 0:07:08.320 --> 0:07:11.440 Well, that's amazing. So what would you say, was like 0:07:11.480 --> 0:07:14.400 the deciding factor for you? Was it the months of 0:07:14.440 --> 0:07:17.600 like being courted, having this moment of like what if, 0:07:17.920 --> 0:07:19.440 Like was there more to it? 0:07:20.200 --> 0:07:22.280 I think I knew that there was still a lot 0:07:22.320 --> 0:07:24.400 of work to do at the state level. My background 0:07:24.480 --> 0:07:26.800 is actually in state policy, Like that's where I started 0:07:26.840 --> 0:07:29.320 doing a lot of my policy work, and there were 0:07:29.320 --> 0:07:32.200 so many things that I saw coming. I think the 0:07:32.240 --> 0:07:34.640 homelessness crisis was still something that I saw that there 0:07:34.640 --> 0:07:37.440 needed to be work done at the state level. But 0:07:37.480 --> 0:07:40.640 then you know, all of a sudden, from two point 0:07:40.720 --> 0:07:42.760 zero started to come right and what was that going 0:07:42.840 --> 0:07:45.400 to mean? You know, for the state of California to 0:07:45.440 --> 0:07:49.880 need to act as the resistance once again. And I 0:07:50.400 --> 0:07:53.440 think I really kind of felt like, Okay, I wanted 0:07:53.480 --> 0:07:55.560 to be a part of that no matter what happened, 0:07:55.640 --> 0:07:58.520 especially with the threats to education. I've worked in the 0:07:58.600 --> 0:08:02.640 education space for so long. Into immigration, there was so 0:08:02.720 --> 0:08:03.640 much that they wanted to do. 0:08:03.720 --> 0:08:07.120 There, don't go anywhere, lookomotives, We'll be right back. 0:08:11.280 --> 0:08:13.680 And we're back with more of our episode. 0:08:13.880 --> 0:08:16.080 I'd love to take advantage of having you here and 0:08:16.160 --> 0:08:19.360 have you like debunk things we see online about the 0:08:19.400 --> 0:08:22.880 homelessness crisis in California, specifically in La County. 0:08:23.640 --> 0:08:28.280 Look, I think the homelessness crisis has really been something 0:08:28.360 --> 0:08:33.000 that's been created over time with a multitude of kind 0:08:33.040 --> 0:08:37.400 of bad policy decisions. Right, we slowed down on building housing. 0:08:37.640 --> 0:08:39.920 I mean that is really I think the crux of it. 0:08:40.520 --> 0:08:43.440 And when we slowed down on building housing and suddenly 0:08:43.480 --> 0:08:46.720 we had a housing shortage issue, but so many people 0:08:46.760 --> 0:08:50.640 still wanting to move to California, it drove up rent 0:08:50.679 --> 0:08:56.120 prices drastically. And the challenge that we're now facing is 0:08:56.160 --> 0:09:01.160 we've invested so much money into resolving homelessness, but we 0:09:01.280 --> 0:09:05.479 have a constant stream of folks that are falling into homelessness, 0:09:05.960 --> 0:09:09.920 and we really have no safety net to protect those 0:09:09.960 --> 0:09:12.560 folks that are right on the edge of poverty. You know, 0:09:12.559 --> 0:09:14.760 I was reading a study the other day and something 0:09:14.880 --> 0:09:18.839 like ninety two percent of folks that are homeless said 0:09:18.840 --> 0:09:21.160 that if they had just been given a housing voucher 0:09:21.280 --> 0:09:24.120 for one month's rent, that that would have prevented them 0:09:24.120 --> 0:09:27.680 from falling into homelessness. And so we have more and 0:09:27.720 --> 0:09:30.080 more people that are right there at the line because 0:09:30.440 --> 0:09:34.800 California's frankly become unaffordable and it's difficult for anybody to 0:09:34.880 --> 0:09:39.960 live here. So it is a constant challenge that we're 0:09:40.000 --> 0:09:43.559 in that as we're trying to house the current folks 0:09:43.640 --> 0:09:47.960 that are currently facing homelessness, we have this new stream 0:09:48.000 --> 0:09:51.400 of folks that are constantly falling into this situation. And 0:09:51.440 --> 0:09:54.000 now you know, the state is trying to rush to 0:09:54.080 --> 0:09:57.440 build more housing, is trying to rush to make sure 0:09:57.559 --> 0:10:00.600 that that process is streamlined. At the l local level, 0:10:00.640 --> 0:10:04.400 you have a lot of local cities that have refused 0:10:04.400 --> 0:10:08.400 to build new housing, refuse to build permanent supportive housing, 0:10:09.400 --> 0:10:13.200 and this has now become a crisis of multiple proportions. 0:10:13.240 --> 0:10:16.160 So it is it is going to take time. And 0:10:16.200 --> 0:10:18.440 I think that that's also the hard part. And even 0:10:18.480 --> 0:10:23.240 when we do start to make a measurable difference, because 0:10:23.800 --> 0:10:27.280 we're not doing anything to fix this pocket of folks 0:10:27.280 --> 0:10:31.600 that are constantly living on the edges, it's like an 0:10:31.679 --> 0:10:35.040 unresolvable issues. So you have to have a multifaceted approach. 0:10:35.160 --> 0:10:37.720 And you know, that's what I've been really focused on, 0:10:37.880 --> 0:10:40.559 is us trying to address just that. I think when 0:10:40.559 --> 0:10:43.600 we see on TV visually, the folks that are most 0:10:43.679 --> 0:10:47.400 interface and we see on news cycles about this is 0:10:47.720 --> 0:10:52.040 people that have addiction issues, right a mental health issues. 0:10:52.360 --> 0:10:55.720 Those folks need a whole different set of supports, whether 0:10:55.760 --> 0:10:58.400 it's through you know, Ala County DMH or you know 0:10:58.480 --> 0:11:03.240 Dragon Alcohol rehabilitation services. But most people who we don't 0:11:03.280 --> 0:11:06.080 often see on the streets, they're often living in their cars, 0:11:06.400 --> 0:11:11.000 they're sleeping on people's couches, and are families that are 0:11:11.000 --> 0:11:14.160 doing this. Those are the folks that you know, with 0:11:14.400 --> 0:11:17.200 a little bit of economic support, we could go and 0:11:17.240 --> 0:11:19.320 get them back into housing and make sure that they're 0:11:19.360 --> 0:11:21.280 not falling deeper into homelessness. 0:11:22.679 --> 0:11:27.840 It's the classic putting a band aid on a leak, right, 0:11:27.920 --> 0:11:31.800 it's just not stopping the leak. Yeah, And it's just 0:11:31.840 --> 0:11:37.080 such a multi layered issue. And I think in LA, 0:11:37.240 --> 0:11:40.200 especially if you're out and about, you can see when 0:11:40.240 --> 0:11:44.240 someone is like newly homeless, like they just you know, 0:11:44.360 --> 0:11:49.160 lost their housing. And I'm curious too about the folks 0:11:49.200 --> 0:11:54.520 that maybe you heard from back when you were starting 0:11:54.520 --> 0:11:55.199 to campaign. 0:11:55.400 --> 0:11:57.320 If you ever hear follow ups. 0:11:57.200 --> 0:11:59.719 From those folks, like folks who are struggling, folks who 0:11:59.720 --> 0:12:04.040 are looking looking for help and support with housing, with rent, 0:12:04.080 --> 0:12:07.360 what have you, What is that feedback loop, like do 0:12:08.120 --> 0:12:09.040 you hear from them again? 0:12:09.160 --> 0:12:10.760 Do you follow up with them? 0:12:10.800 --> 0:12:13.800 Like? What does that look like, yeah, a lot of folks, 0:12:13.840 --> 0:12:16.440 I'll run into them again, or I'll go check on them. 0:12:17.360 --> 0:12:19.719 There was one family in particular that I got very 0:12:19.720 --> 0:12:23.080 involved with when I was running for city council, and 0:12:23.880 --> 0:12:26.839 they were in a situation where their landlord had intentionally 0:12:27.440 --> 0:12:30.280 shut off the power and shut off the water in 0:12:30.320 --> 0:12:32.480 their building in order to try to force them out. 0:12:32.559 --> 0:12:36.440 Because if you remember, at the time, we had very 0:12:36.520 --> 0:12:39.199 heavy protections in place, right, so if you weren't able 0:12:39.240 --> 0:12:42.719 to pay your rent, you were basically held harmless. You 0:12:42.760 --> 0:12:47.280 couldn't be evicted. And so this landlord was essentially doing 0:12:47.280 --> 0:12:49.960 these illegal practices to try to force out the tenant. 0:12:50.559 --> 0:12:54.680 And the tenant that was there was a mother and 0:12:54.760 --> 0:12:59.640 her husband. Her husband was struggling with some major health 0:12:59.679 --> 0:13:02.760 issues along with her children when was in high school 0:13:03.240 --> 0:13:07.800 and another was in elementary school, and it was I mean, 0:13:07.800 --> 0:13:10.240 it was just shocking and unacceptable what was happening. So 0:13:10.280 --> 0:13:14.439 we reported the landlord to the Department of Public Health 0:13:14.520 --> 0:13:17.800 because it's a public health violation to do that. And 0:13:18.080 --> 0:13:21.600 I saw them, gosh, not too long ago, I want 0:13:21.600 --> 0:13:24.080 to say, like five or six months ago, and they 0:13:24.080 --> 0:13:26.040 had shared with me that they weren't living there anymore 0:13:26.080 --> 0:13:28.760 that they moved into another location. They obviously got tired 0:13:28.800 --> 0:13:31.760 of dealing with this person that was being very antagonistic 0:13:31.800 --> 0:13:34.559 towards them. But one of the things I think that's 0:13:34.600 --> 0:13:36.160 really important to me is when I go through that 0:13:36.200 --> 0:13:39.080 process with somebody, is to really educate them around their rights, 0:13:39.600 --> 0:13:43.080 right and empowering her as the mother as well as 0:13:43.080 --> 0:13:46.040 her as her two children to understand that they have 0:13:46.160 --> 0:13:48.760 rights and protections in that moment, and you know, in 0:13:48.800 --> 0:13:50.600 talking with her, that's what she was sharing with me. 0:13:50.679 --> 0:13:54.080 You know, I really appreciated you just empowering me to 0:13:54.240 --> 0:13:57.199 know that I have rights. I can fight back, right, 0:13:57.360 --> 0:13:59.640 I don't have to just accept what they're telling me. 0:14:00.520 --> 0:14:05.280 I have protections too. So it's you know, it's tough. 0:14:05.320 --> 0:14:08.800 I think we tried to do our best to help 0:14:08.880 --> 0:14:13.360 folks out. But you know, even in that situation, they've 0:14:13.360 --> 0:14:15.680 moved to a place that's now smaller, and maybe it's 0:14:15.800 --> 0:14:19.800 it might be tighter quarters, but you know, when when 0:14:19.800 --> 0:14:24.280 you're dealing with the landlord that's that aggressive and antagonistic, 0:14:24.280 --> 0:14:26.800 it's just it's not a healthy place for someone to live. 0:14:26.960 --> 0:14:29.520 So before we stepped into the studio, we were talking 0:14:29.520 --> 0:14:32.840 about the fact that almost immediately after you got sworn 0:14:32.880 --> 0:14:35.160 into office, the wildfires. 0:14:35.200 --> 0:14:37.080 The fires took place here. 0:14:36.880 --> 0:14:40.760 In LA and you were on the ground immediately and 0:14:41.040 --> 0:14:45.280 working in the community. And I'm wondering what that introduction 0:14:46.760 --> 0:14:50.160 was like for you, you know, to this office and 0:14:50.280 --> 0:14:53.880 having this huge disaster take place right away and just 0:14:53.960 --> 0:14:54.960 hitting the ground running. 0:14:55.000 --> 0:14:56.640 What was that experience like for you? 0:14:57.080 --> 0:15:01.120 It was so overwhelming. Oh my gosh, January was one 0:15:01.120 --> 0:15:03.200 of the hardest months of my life. I don't think 0:15:03.240 --> 0:15:07.760 I've ever experienced anything more more challenging. Oh my goodness. 0:15:08.560 --> 0:15:11.680 I started on January sixth, and the legislature and Sacramento 0:15:11.720 --> 0:15:14.320 and the fires happened on the evening of January seventh, 0:15:14.960 --> 0:15:17.360 and so you know, when I got that phone call, 0:15:19.080 --> 0:15:20.800 I didn't sleep that night. I was up until four 0:15:20.840 --> 0:15:23.000 in the morning in the office, and then I went 0:15:23.080 --> 0:15:25.560 back to my apartment. I napped for twenty minutes, and 0:15:25.600 --> 0:15:28.320 then I took the first flight back to LA And 0:15:28.360 --> 0:15:31.520 it was just like not knowing what I was walking 0:15:31.560 --> 0:15:35.400 into the bizarre nature of seeing a community that I 0:15:35.520 --> 0:15:39.160 know in love on fire. And then when I got 0:15:39.240 --> 0:15:42.400 back here on January eighth, we went to go and 0:15:42.440 --> 0:15:44.760 see the area and much of it was still on fire, 0:15:45.320 --> 0:15:48.120 so that was also bizarre too, because we couldn't get planes, 0:15:48.320 --> 0:15:50.760 you know, up into into the sky of helicopters rather 0:15:51.720 --> 0:15:54.480 to put out the flames because the winds were still 0:15:54.640 --> 0:15:58.640 very high at that point. But it was it was 0:15:58.800 --> 0:16:02.840 just so overwhelming and bizarre, and I think I just 0:16:02.880 --> 0:16:05.040 didn't really have a moment to process it, because if 0:16:05.080 --> 0:16:06.640 I think I would have processed it, I would have 0:16:06.640 --> 0:16:09.520 freaked out. So I just had to do it, and 0:16:09.560 --> 0:16:11.840 that was just it. I just had to jump right 0:16:11.880 --> 0:16:13.520 in and not think about it and be like, I'm 0:16:13.760 --> 0:16:16.720 this is work, I'm working, and let me just focus 0:16:16.840 --> 0:16:18.920 on on delivering for folks. 0:16:20.520 --> 0:16:21.960 Don't go anywhere, Lokamotis. 0:16:22.080 --> 0:16:23.119 We'll be right. 0:16:22.880 --> 0:16:30.120 Back, and we're back with more of our episode. 0:16:30.520 --> 0:16:33.680 That raises me to my really basic question that I 0:16:33.720 --> 0:16:35.840 have for you, because I think, like, as I go 0:16:36.000 --> 0:16:40.240 deeper into my career here with look at Dora and 0:16:40.320 --> 0:16:42.960 just being somewhat someone that's online and like very politically 0:16:42.960 --> 0:16:45.680 informed and tries to be really informed, there is a 0:16:45.840 --> 0:16:50.360 basic misunderstanding of like civic engagement and what elected officials 0:16:50.440 --> 0:16:53.040 can do and what they should do. So I want 0:16:53.080 --> 0:16:55.200 to ask you just a really basic question like what 0:16:55.360 --> 0:16:58.480 does a state senator do? Cause I feel like people 0:16:58.560 --> 0:17:00.800 might not even know what that is. You know, what 0:17:00.920 --> 0:17:02.760 does she What does the state center actually do? 0:17:03.320 --> 0:17:06.720 So we write laws for the state of California. To 0:17:07.160 --> 0:17:09.919 put it very simply, So anything that happens at the 0:17:09.920 --> 0:17:14.560 federal level, you know, I am not a US senator, 0:17:14.600 --> 0:17:18.119 so I have no jurisdiction over that. You know people 0:17:18.240 --> 0:17:21.600 have messaged me about like impeaching the president. That is 0:17:21.680 --> 0:17:25.000 not something that I have any jurisdiction over. So when 0:17:25.040 --> 0:17:29.800 we write laws, it is specifically for California and impacting 0:17:30.119 --> 0:17:33.119 all of California. So like a local city council member 0:17:33.640 --> 0:17:37.040 or a local mayor would be writing laws specifically for 0:17:37.119 --> 0:17:39.800 their city or their town, and for us, we have 0:17:39.840 --> 0:17:42.840 to think statewide whenever we're working on something and doing something. 0:17:43.000 --> 0:17:47.760 No, I think that's really important basic explainer for anybody, right, 0:17:47.840 --> 0:17:51.080 for anybody, so that you know where to go. Yeah, 0:17:51.240 --> 0:17:53.480 when you do have an issue, you save yourself the 0:17:53.560 --> 0:17:56.959 run around and go directly to the person, the office, 0:17:57.000 --> 0:18:00.439 the department that can do something for you, right, that 0:18:00.480 --> 0:18:01.240 can handle. 0:18:00.920 --> 0:18:01.520 What you need. 0:18:01.800 --> 0:18:03.800 Before we came into the studio, you were talking about 0:18:03.840 --> 0:18:08.320 a bill that you recently presented. Can you tell us 0:18:08.320 --> 0:18:09.640 more about that for our listeners. 0:18:09.800 --> 0:18:14.480 Yeah, so, as you know, you know, Elon Musk, Trump 0:18:14.960 --> 0:18:22.200 Doge have been just on this craze cycle of cutting 0:18:22.240 --> 0:18:24.879 everything and so many of the life saving services that 0:18:24.880 --> 0:18:29.040 we depend on, whether it's been Medicaid, you know, social Security. 0:18:29.040 --> 0:18:32.600 They're now talking about eliminating the Department of Education, They're 0:18:32.640 --> 0:18:36.879 talking about eliminating FEMA. And you know, I have heard 0:18:36.920 --> 0:18:40.680 from so many of my constituents that they want for 0:18:40.840 --> 0:18:44.199 me to fight back. You know, we're the state of California. 0:18:44.280 --> 0:18:47.600 We're the most powerful state in the nation. We can't 0:18:47.640 --> 0:18:50.080 allow this to happen. We give more of our federal 0:18:50.119 --> 0:18:53.640 tax dollars to the federal government than we receive back. 0:18:53.760 --> 0:18:59.119 So I've introduced a bill to withhold federal funding should 0:18:59.520 --> 0:19:04.440 the administration continue to cut life saving services. And part 0:19:04.480 --> 0:19:07.280 of the reason why I'm suggesting that we go that 0:19:07.400 --> 0:19:11.320 route is because at some point we're going to need 0:19:11.359 --> 0:19:16.000 to backfill those services, whether it's Medicaid, whether it's Social Security. 0:19:16.040 --> 0:19:20.280 I mean, this is presenting real policy and budget questions 0:19:20.320 --> 0:19:22.919 that we're now having to deal with, and it is 0:19:22.960 --> 0:19:25.879 about time for us to say no more. If you 0:19:25.920 --> 0:19:28.000 want to continue doing this, then we're going to have 0:19:28.040 --> 0:19:30.720 to hold on to our dollars because we have to 0:19:30.760 --> 0:19:33.959 continue to provide those services to our constituents to make 0:19:34.000 --> 0:19:37.040 sure that people are staying alive. And you know, this 0:19:37.080 --> 0:19:41.760 is my form of saying enough is enough. And what 0:19:41.840 --> 0:19:43.760 I've heard from my constituents is they're like, we don't 0:19:43.800 --> 0:19:45.960 know what we want you to do, but please just 0:19:46.080 --> 0:19:46.919 do something. 0:19:47.240 --> 0:19:50.560 So yeah, And I have a follow up question to that, 0:19:50.600 --> 0:19:53.679 because my lingering question, as all of the cuts have 0:19:53.760 --> 0:19:56.760 been made at the federal level, is how does that 0:19:56.920 --> 0:20:00.199 not affect like unemployment at the state level, And is 0:20:00.240 --> 0:20:02.719 that something that you're also seeing and maybe like with 0:20:02.760 --> 0:20:05.640 one of the implications of like then the budget constraints, 0:20:05.720 --> 0:20:08.480 or then how does this fill out into or spill 0:20:08.480 --> 0:20:09.840 over into the state of California. 0:20:09.920 --> 0:20:12.919 Oh, my gosh, absolutely, I mean that is part of 0:20:12.960 --> 0:20:16.320 what is driving If you've seen some of the news recently, 0:20:16.800 --> 0:20:19.800 the County of La is facing a budget crisis, the 0:20:19.840 --> 0:20:22.520 City of La is facing a budget crisis. If you 0:20:22.640 --> 0:20:25.840 saw you know, headlines just a couple of months ago, 0:20:25.920 --> 0:20:29.720 right after the fires happen, the state government invested two 0:20:29.800 --> 0:20:34.200 point five billion dollars into the La wildfires, both Palisades 0:20:34.240 --> 0:20:36.880 and Eton. And what that helps to cover is all 0:20:36.920 --> 0:20:39.480 of those fire trucks you saw coming from all over 0:20:39.640 --> 0:20:42.280 the state of California and even outside of the state. 0:20:42.680 --> 0:20:45.680 Those firefighters need to get paid for their time, all 0:20:45.720 --> 0:20:48.199 the resources that were used, whether it was city or 0:20:48.240 --> 0:20:51.000 county resources. That's to help cover and foot the bill 0:20:51.080 --> 0:20:54.439 for that. We're depending on FEMA to reimburse us for that. 0:20:54.560 --> 0:20:57.400 So if you were to eliminate that department, if we're 0:20:57.440 --> 0:21:00.840 not to not receive those dollars, that has huge impact 0:21:00.840 --> 0:21:04.040 on the state budget. So many of our local communities 0:21:04.080 --> 0:21:08.200 depend on Medicaid for example, you know, cutting that that 0:21:09.080 --> 0:21:14.600 cuts those folks out of health care. These are huge, huge, 0:21:14.720 --> 0:21:18.920 huge items, and you know, we have multiple lawsuits moving forward. 0:21:18.960 --> 0:21:22.240 The attorney generals joined together with other states to sue 0:21:22.320 --> 0:21:25.800 the federal government. But if any of these things were 0:21:25.840 --> 0:21:28.800 to go through and continue moving forward, we are going 0:21:28.880 --> 0:21:32.560 to be in a real, real crisis. And I really 0:21:32.600 --> 0:21:36.520 want to emphasize that. My hope is that you'll have 0:21:36.600 --> 0:21:38.920 other states begin to speak up and say we can't 0:21:38.960 --> 0:21:41.680 do this. I mean, if they're to eliminate FEMA, it's 0:21:41.720 --> 0:21:44.360 not just California that takes the hit. Kentucky just went 0:21:44.400 --> 0:21:46.919 through one of the biggest floods that they've seen in 0:21:46.960 --> 0:21:49.879 the last twenty five thirty years. Their folks are relying 0:21:49.920 --> 0:21:52.600 on FEMA too, So it's not just a California issue. 0:21:52.640 --> 0:21:53.800 It is all of us. 0:21:54.200 --> 0:21:57.080 Right. And then with the changes of the climate crisis 0:21:57.080 --> 0:22:00.280 that we're in, we can only expect more natural disasters 0:22:00.400 --> 0:22:01.680 in across the nation. 0:22:01.960 --> 0:22:06.560 Yes, yeah, absolutely, We're in March. Well, we're now about 0:22:06.600 --> 0:22:09.280 to enter into April. Think about that. I mean, we 0:22:09.440 --> 0:22:12.439 still have several months of the year left. And that 0:22:12.640 --> 0:22:15.320 is the scary part is we could be in for 0:22:15.520 --> 0:22:18.879