'Two Wrongs Don't Make A Right': CA Lawmaker Jeff Gonzalez Slams Dem Effort To Redistrict California

Forbes Breaking News

During a California State Assembly redistricting meeting, Republican State Rep. Jeff Gonzalez spoke about redistricting California.

Transcript

00:00Colleagues, today I rise in complete and utter disappointment. We're about to

00:10potentially waste two hundred and thirty million dollars to undo something

00:14Californians already decided on in 2010. That an independent commission, not the

00:20governor and not the legislature, should draw district lines. The majority of

00:24Californians don't want this, yet here we are. I'm exhausted that this is what

00:30we're choosing to spend our time on. This body has all the power to make the

00:36lives of Californians better and Californians are sick and tired of

00:41watching us come to this floor week after week with no solutions to this, to

00:47the crises that are faced, that we're facing. We as a body are out of touch with

00:52the issues raging in our state, from affordability, healthcare, to the housing

00:58crisis, to homelessness. As a Marine Corps veteran it sickens me to know that men

01:02and women who I fought alongside are sleeping on the streets. We can fix that,

01:10but we aren't. Instead the governor and members of this body are playing partisan

01:16politics. Let me be clear. Californians in my district tell me every day they feel

01:23forgotten by this body. Forgotten. Let me be clear about that. You see in my

01:30district the needs are urgent and real. Palo Verde Hospital in Blythe is on the

01:36brink of closure. I requested four million in emergency funding to keep it

01:41operating a lifeline that was that was not fulfilled. As a result the hospital

01:47now faces an uncertain future and residents of Blythe could soon be

01:51forced to travel over 100 miles just to access emergency care. This is not just a

01:59health care issue. It's a public safety crisis. In Imperial County the last sugar

02:05beet plant, Spreckles has shut down, wiping out over 700 jobs in a county that

02:11already suffers a 20 percent unemployment rate. And yet, instead of focusing on

02:19jobs, we're debating on gerrymandering. At Ironwood State Prison in Blythe, leadership

02:25is doing incredible work rehabilitating incarcerated people with programs that

02:31gives men something to look forward to. Imagine what a fraction of this money could

02:39do there. In the mountain communities from Winchester to Anza, families live with

02:45the constant threat of wildfires. We should be filling reservoirs and doing

02:50real forest management. But we aren't. I've heard arguments in these halls that just

02:56because Texas is doing it, we should too. That the White House is holding on to money

03:01that should go to California and democracy is in flames. Colleagues, two wrongs don't

03:07make a right, like my colleague said, but if democracy is on the line, then

03:12California should be strengthening it, not rigging it for political gain. Hundreds of

03:18millions of dollars could be directed towards fighting food insecurity, helping

03:23organizations like FIND and the Imperial Valley Food Banks who are doing God's

03:27work every single day and serving the most vulnerable in our communities. We

03:33cannot claim to serve the people while prioritizing their most basic needs. And

03:38I could go on. Families in Imperial, Riverside, and San Bernardino County can't

03:44afford gas, groceries, child care. Parents are choosing between filling their gas

03:49tanks or their fridge. That's the reality my district is living with every single day. So let me ask,

03:57why are we wasting time and money on reckless measures that is being pushed

04:03down onto Californians from those at the highest levels of government in our state?

04:07You know, when I was at war, at least I was able to see the threats coming at me. But here in

04:13Sacramento, I have no idea about the backroom deals that are being made and we still can't get answers as to

04:20who actually drew the lines. I ran for office because of my son RJ who has cerebral palsy.

04:25He can't speak to him for himself so I ran to be his voice and the voice for his

04:31families. And we fought together to take back in-home supportive services. We work

04:37together to do that. We can do so much more. We can get so much more done. So

04:42colleagues, I end by saying this. Let's rise up. Let's work together to fix the problems in

04:50our state because we can do it. I've seen it done. So let's make this happen.

04:54Let's begin.

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