Today, I am privileged to assume the duties of Minority Leader in the California State Assembly, taking office at one of the most challenging times California has ever experienced.
Faced with seemingly unending state budget problems, millions of people out of work and a state teetering on the brink of fiscal insolvency, some have questioned why I would want this job in the first place.
The answer is simple. Our problems are largely of our own making, which means they are problems we can solve. We have a real opportunity to emerge from this adversity stronger, better, and more prosperous than ever before but to do so, we must plan strategically and act courageously.
Millions of people from around the world have been drawn to California over the years for the hope of a better life. California has long been admired as a place of innovation, optimism and opportunity for all, but sadly we have lost our way.
How did this happen? In the last generation, state government began to lose sight of the fact that we work for our citizens, not the other way around. Instead of creating an environment where working families and job creating businesses could prosper, government did just the opposite.
State government routinely ran up massive deficits while passing well meaning but misguided policies that drove jobs away and placed costly burdens on local schools. Worse still, it created a job-killing web of overlapping mandates and runaway costs that made it virtually impossible for small businesses to succeed. We will never have the funding for schools that we all hope for until we reform the regulatory environment that has collapsed what was once the strongest economy in the nation.
As the Republican leader in the State Assembly I will fight hard to return jobs and prosperity to our golden state. Hard working families struggling to make a better future for their children deserve to know that we will stand with them, shoulder to shoulder. It is time for state government to live within its means, use its scarce resources to target dollars to the classroom, not bureaucracies, and to keep hardened criminals off the streets.
As Assembly Republicans our first priority is to balance the budget without raising taxes. Once we get our budget problems under control, we must consider reforms to streamline government, eliminate waste and instill government accountability to get us on the right track going forward.
With California facing a $24 billion deficit, it is essential that we get our budget priorities in order, cutting back on our spending but protecting core programs like education and public safety as much as possible. Failure to restructure and reform state government at this critical juncture will only cause greater harm in the future to hard working California families teetering on the brink.
Growing our economy and bringing back jobs is key to getting California back on track and returning the state to excellence. We can only bring hope and opportunity to those facing desperate times by restarting the engine of economic growth that once earned us the honor of being called the Golden State.
Working families and job creators alike are counting on us to return some sanity to a broken government that is holding California and its citizens back. In the coming months under my leadership, Republicans will show Californians that we are up to the task, offering the bold ideas and positive changes they are seeking to turn our state around and lead our state into the future.
Assembly Minority Leader Sam Blakeslee, of San Luis Obispo, represents the 33rd Assembly District in the California Legislature.