For our 2012 Assembly endorsement.

Hon. Rob Bonta, Vice Mayor, City of Alameda

What do you think is the greatest challenge faced by young people in your district and what is your plan to address that challenge? (500 word max)

The greatest challenge faced by young people in the district is the state’s massive divestment in our public schools. We must reinvest in and improve public education in California so that all young people in the district and in California can realize the promise of a quality education.

I am a product of California’s public schools, and was able to attend Yale College, Oxford University, and Yale Law School. I had a dream to go to the best universities in the world and I was able to realize that dream because of the strength of California’s public schools. As a parent and public servant, I worry that my children and their generation will not be able to fulfill the same dream. I have been a public school parent since my oldest child was old enough to go to school. I have seen firsthand increased class sizes, fewer instructional days, teacher layoffs, programmatic cuts, and the shortage of basic supplies in the classroom. California has gone from being one of the top 10 states in the country in per pupil funding to one of the bottom ten states. As a parent, this concerns me deeply, and that is why I have fought for school funding increases both locally and statewide.

My two daughters Reina and Iliana Bonta are plaintiffs in the Robles Wong vs. California lawsuit, which challenges the state of California’s public school finance system. The state’s public school finance system is broken and needs to be fixed so that all of California’s children are given the learning opportunities they deserve. Education is a fundamental right of every child in California. California has set clear requirements for what schools are expected to teach and what students are expected to learn. By doing so, the state has an obligation to provide the resources necessary to meet the required standards, but has failed to do so. The lawsuit asks the state to remedy this dire problem and to ensure that children in the East Bay and throughout the state receive the financing they need to receive a high quality education.

I also worked with my local teachers and classified school employee unions to pass a parcel tax for our schools in Alameda that helped lower class size, keep schools open, save jobs, and, generally, protect our teachers, parents, students, and community against Sacramento’s takeaways. In addition, I am currently assisting the San Leandro School Board with its planned parcel tax measure.

As a state legislator, I would support lowering the threshold for local parcel taxes from a 2/3 vote to a simple majority, or, alternatively, to a 55% majority vote as is currently the threshold for facility bonds, to allow communities to more easily pass parcel tax increases that will support their schools. I am a strong believer in local control of schools in particular and government in general, and part of local control is allowing the voters to tax themselves in order to fund programs they deem worthy.

What skills or experiences qualify you to represent this district? Why are you the best representative for this district? (500 word max)

My experience as a publicly-elected official, my public and community service over many years, my professional experience as both a private and public attorney, and my values and commitment to social, economic, and racial justice, to working people, to the most vulnerable in our community, including the poor, the sick, and the elderly, and to education equity and adequate public school funding all qualify me to represent the district and make me the best representative for this district.

I am running for state assembly to continue the commitment to public service and the struggle for social justice and progress that my parents were a part of and that I have pursued in my professional career. My parents were farm worker organizers with the United Farm Workers and worked directly with UFW co-founders Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta and Filipino UFW leaders Philip Vera Cruz and Pete Velasco in La Paz, the UFW headquarters in the California Central Valley, where I spent my early childhood. My father was part of the Civil Rights Movement and marched with Dr. Martin Luther King in the deep south. My mother has been a long-time leader in the Filipino social justice movement. Both of my parents worked for over 50 years combined as state employees serving the people of California. As a community organizer, I saw firsthand the devastating impacts of underfunded schools, high crime, and poverty, and it was all too clear the need to speak for those children and families whose voices were not being heard. As a Deputy City Attorney in the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office, I represent everyday people including bus drivers, firefighters, and police officers and I bring consumer protection cases to protect California’s residents from different forms of abuse.

I am the only candidate in the race with a family and am uniquely-positioned as someone who understands and is invested in public education, health care, etc.

My experience includes:

• Vice Mayor, City of Alameda (November 2010 – Present)
• Director, Alameda Healthcare District (2007 – 2010)
• Commissioner, Alameda County Transportation Commission. February 2011 to present
• Economic Development Commission, City of Alameda. Chair, Fall 2009-2010. Vice Chair, Fall 2008-Fall 2009. Member, Fall 2006-2010.
• Social Service Human Relations Board, City of Alameda. President, 2005-06. Co-Chair of Family Services Workgroup, Board Member. SSHRB advises the City Council regarding Alameda’s social service needs. 2003-2006.
• Alameda Democratic Club. Co-President, Fall 2006-Fall 2009
• Asian Pacific American Democratic Caucus of Alameda County. Board President, Fall 2006-Fall 2009. Member of Board of Directors, December 2005- present.
• Filipino-American Democratic Club of Alameda County, Founding Member, 2009-present
• Wellstone Renewal Democratic Club, Member
• Alameda County Democratic Lawyers Club, Member
• East Bay Young Democrats, Member
• Filipino Advocates for Justice (formerly Filipinos for Affirmative Action). Member of Board of Directors. Fundraising Committee Member. 2004-2010.
• Manilatown Heritage Foundation. Member of Board of Directors, Finance, Fundraising & Board Expansion Committee Member, Member of Advisory Board of Directors. 2003-present.
• Alameda Hospital Foundation. Board Member. Spring 2007-Fall 2009.
• Alameda Unified School District Superintendent’s Parcel Tax Advisory Committee, 2009-10.

What are your top three priorities if elected? (600 word max)

In addition to public education, as discussed above, my top three priorities if elected are: (1) the budget, jobs and the economy, (2) public safety, and (3) preserving our social service safety net.

(1) Job Creation, Economic Revitalization, and the Budget

As the Chair of the City’s Economic Development Commission and as Vice Mayor, I have promoted job creation and economic revitalization, and fought to attract new businesses and jobs to the City while retaining and supporting existing ones. I established the America’s Cup Committee to bring economic benefits to Alameda and its citizenry during the upcoming event, which is expected to generate over $1.2 Billion in economic activity and create over 8,000 jobs. In addition, while Vice Mayor, the City successfully negotiated the conveyance of the 918-acre Alameda Point from the Navy to the City at no-cost, clearing the way for the creation of thousands of jobs and massive economic revitalization.

The state can help create jobs and revitalize the economy with a stimulus package that might include a statewide school facilities bond or a public infrastructure bond, both of which would help put Californians back to work while making needed investment in our infrastructure.

We must generate more revenue at the state level and invest in California. With the most recent $15 Billion budget cuts, we have reduced our state spending to levels last seen in 1972-1973, when our population was half the size. Our perennial budget crises are further impacted by California’s dysfunctional tax system. We must end the undemocratic two-thirds rule that allows a minority of Republicans to hold our state hostage.

(2) Preserving Public Safety

A kindergarten student at the elementary school both of my daughters attended was recently shot and killed in front of his parents’ food truck in Oakland. Last year, I attended the candlelight vigil in Oakland of a 3-year old child who was shot and killed in crossfire while being strolled down the street by his parents in the middle of the day in a bustling retail district. The people of the East Bay deserve higher levels of public safety. That is why as Vice Mayor I supported no cuts to street level services for police and firefighters and will continue to fight for safer communities. I have worked to approve fair and decent Firefighter and Police contracts through good-faith, collective bargaining after three years of stalled negotiations. However, other municipalities have not been as fortunate. This public safety crisis is exacerbated because of unfunded state mandates. As an Assemblymember, I would leverage the resources of the state to ensure sufficient, visible, and proactive community policing in neighborhoods to deter and stop crime, and also ensure that we invest in education and job training to help create an environment in which crime is less likely to occur in the first place.

(3) Ensuring A Strong Social Service Safety Net

I have neighbors who have lost their homes and friends who have lost their jobs. I have been in the ER with my family and individuals who were seeking non- emergency health care because they were uninsured and had nowhere else to go. As President of the city’s Social Service Human Relations Board and as Vice Mayor, I approved grants to keep roofs over the heads of the would-be homeless, keep the electricity and gas on in people’s dwellings, and provide food assistance to the hungry. We must ensure that we have a social service system that protects and serves the most vulnerable among us when they need it most, including the sick, the elderly, and the poor.

How will you use your campaign and (if elected) your office to engage and empower disenfranchised communities?

Since I was a child growing up in La Paz, where my parents were farm worker organizers with Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta, I have been active in the social, economic, and racial justice movement and community and grassroots organizing. I am proud that my family was part of the United Farm Worker movement, what I believe was one of the greatest social justice movements in the history of our country and certainly in California. And I am extremely proud to be endorsed by the United Farm Workers of America in this Assembly race. I grew up attending rallies, protests, and demonstrations speaking out against injustice. I served as a community organizer working with children and families in urban public housing neighborhoods. I participated in pickets and marches with the UFW, CNA, and SEIU. I am using my campaign to engage and empower disenfranchised communities and will use my office in the State Assembly to do the same.

Through my work with labor, the Democratic Party, local business leaders, healthcare and education leaders, the public safety community, young people and seniors, community leaders and grassroots activists, parents, etc. we are ensuring that voters understand that my roots are in social, economic, and racial justice.

As I have always done, I will be an active and vocal force for the rights of working people. I regularly walk picket lines—most recently with the California Nurses Association and SEIU—sign petitions and engage in other organizing activities because they are the right things to do, not because I am involved in politics.

As I referred to above, I spent a number of my early childhood years in the United Farm Workers headquarters of La Paz (in the Central Valley) where my parents were an active part of the movement and worked as farm worker organizers alongside UFW leaders César Chávez, Dolores Huerta, Philip Vera Cruz, Pete Velasco, and Gilbert Padilla, among others. Members of the UFW helped raise me, and I am proud that my parents and I were part of one of the greatest social justice movements in the history of California and this country. The fight for justice the UFW and my parents began almost 40 years ago continues today. I was proud to recently march with the UFW as part of the March for Fair Treatment for Farm Workers, a 13-day pilgrimage from the Central Valley to Sacramento to call for legislation that would protect farm workers’ rights to join a union and provide for overtime after 8 hours a day or 40 hours a week. I was pleased to see that, as a result of the march, Governor Brown signed SB 126 into law, allowing California’s approximately 400,000 farm workers to more readily join unions and speak up for fair labor practices.

I am and have been a strong supporter of working families. I am a union member and come from a union family. I am a long-time and current member of the Municipal Attorneys’ Association and both of my parents are long-time members of SEIU 1000 (California State Employees Association). Both of my parents are currently retired and living off of the CalPERS pensions that they earned, that were promised to them, and that they deserve to keep. I am currently earning my own pension as well. I oppose moves to change the public pension system to a defined contribution plan, such as a 401(k). Our public pensions provide much needed retirement security for government employees, whose total compensation generally lags behind their private sector counterparts.

My commitment to supporting working people includes:

• As the Vice Mayor of Alameda, I approved fair and decent contracts for the Alameda Firefighters and Alameda Police Officers through the good-faith, collective bargaining process after three years of stalled negotiations with the prior administration.
• As Vice Mayor, I am currently taking the lead in working with the Building Trades and Carpenters unions to have a city-wide Project Labor Agreement approved in Alameda.
• As Vice Mayor, I approved a favorable contract extension with IBEW Local 1245 members after protracted, unproductive, and unfavorable negotiations under the prior administration.
• As Vice Mayor, I successfully supported the involvement of a representative from every City bargaining unit in the selection process for our new City Manager.
• As a Director of the City of Alameda Health Care District, I worked in good- faith with and arrived at contracts approved by the California Nurses Association (C.N.A.) (unanimous approval), SEIU UHW Local 250, Local 6 ILWU (Longshore Warehouse Union), Local 29 OPEIU (Office and Professional Employees International Union), and Local 39 Operating Engineers.
• I supported United Food & Commercial Workers Local 5 in their successful effort to pass a “big box ban” ordinance in Alameda.
• I picketed with the California Nurses Association and nurses at Oakland Children’s Hospital in support of fair and decent healthcare benefits and working conditions that promote quality patient care.
• I signed a letter to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security regarding unjust I9 audits at Pacific Steel Casting Company and attended a press conference at the Alameda County Central Labor Council office speaking out against these unfair practices.
• I financially supported the locked-out workers at Castlewood Country Club (UNITE HERE Local 2850).
• For my support of working people, I am honored to have earned the early endorsements in my State Assembly campaign of the following labor organizations:
• United Farm Workers of America (UFW) Service Employees International Union (SEIU) California AFSCME (American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees) Council 57 California Association of Professional Scientists IAFF Local 55—Oakland, Alameda County, Emeryville Firefighters Alameda Firefighters, IAFF Local 689 Alameda Police Officers Association
• East Bay Automotive Machinists Local 1546 Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association, AFL-CIO San Francisco Firefighters, IAFF Local 798 San Francisco Police Officers Association

In addition, I will fight to ensure that the so-called Paycheck Protection (actually “Paycheck Deception”) Act is not passed. With the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United, which allows for essentially unlimited corporate spending in elections, working people need the ability to counter that influence with political action of their own, something that is achieved through organized labor unions funded through their members.

How will you cultivate young political leaders?

I will cultivate young political leaders in a number of ways. I will mentor and train young leaders, give them leadership opportunities and empower them with responsibility and authority over important political work, and continue to fill the pipeline of strong Democratic leaders. I will hire young leaders to be part of my staff, both in the district and in Sacramento. I have already made young leaders a critical part of my campaign infrastructure with numerous members of my campaign team being young leaders: Jofil Borja, a Cal student, has been working on the campaign’s policy positions as has a recent UC Davis graduate Maximillian Mikalonis. And James De Los Reyes, a recent law school graduate, has been spearheading the campaign’s social media outreach efforts. I will continue to support young political leaders through the efforts of the East Bay Young Democrats and the California Young Democrats.

What is your position on: (300 word max each)

Marriage equality

I am a strong supporter of marriage equality. In fact, the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office, where I have served as a Deputy City Attorney for approximately the last decade, has been at the forefront of the legal battle for marriage equality in California. My office was the first government entity in American history ever to sue to invalidate discriminatory marriage laws, and it is the only law office to be involved as a party in every aspect of the legal fight since 2004: (1) From defending Mayor Newsom’s issuance of same-sex marriage licenses; (2) To successfully suing to strike down the anti-gay marriage exclusion in the state courts; (3) To challenging the discriminatory Proposition 8 in the California Supreme Court, and now as co-plaintiff in the federal courts. Just recently the 9th Circuit affirmed the lower court’s decision finding Prop 8 unconstitutional.

Over the course of this nearly six-year legal battle, San Francisco had been joined by almost two-dozen local cities and counties — representing more than 17 million Californians — in support of marriage equality and in opposition to Proposition 8, a dangerous constitutional amendment that threatens equal protection rights for virtually any potential electoral minority.

More than five years after the City Attorney’s office filed litigation challenging marriage laws that discriminate against gay and lesbian couples — the state-level legal battle came to an end with the California Supreme Court’s ruling upholding the validity of Proposition 8, the initiative constitutional amendment that eliminated the fundamental right of gay and lesbian couples to marry.

I opposed Proposition 8 and support new efforts to bring marriage equality to California.

Access to healthcare

I support single payer. Currently 47 million Americans have no health insurance. The majority of the uninsured work at jobs that provide no health benefits. There are systemic problems within the public and private health care system including hospital closures, ER diversions, and denials of care by insurance companies. I am in favor of a publicly administered, universal health care system (i.e. “single-payer”).

Single payer health care would allow California to negotiate the best rates for health care from hospitals and pharmaceutical corporations and as such I would strongly support its implementation in our state and nationwide. The larger the pool of insured individuals, the less risk each individual bears, and single payer would allow us to reduce costs across the board. Furthermore, single payer would severely reduce the number of uninsured individuals entering our hospitals—ideally providing insurance for all—which would reduce costs on hospitals and allow them to pass on the savings to other patients. In terms of implementation, I believe we can achieve single-payer within California through a combination of legislative action (such as Senator Mark Leno’s SB 810 from past sessions), the health insurance exchange program, and federal waivers to the exchange program. I know Vermont is attempting to implement single-payer through its exchange starting in 2014– as opposed to 2017 for alterations to their program– which will require the approval of the Obama Administration. As far as national implementation of single-payer health insurance, I believe the first step would be to establish a well functioning system on the state level that could be successfully expanded into a federal program following several years of beneficial results and fiscal stability.

Climate change’s effects on the environment

To address climate change’s effects on the environment, we must reduce our reliance on automobiles (including by promoting transit oriented development), encourage alternative fuel sources, and address rising sea levels that will affect the East Bay.

Specifically, my top three environmental issues in the district are: 1) Alameda Point cleanup and development, 2) Greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and transportation. 3) The effects of Global Climate Change and rising sea levels on the district and Oakland International Airport.

1) While I served as Vice Mayor, the City recently persuaded the Navy to convey the land to the City of Alameda at no cost. As a naval base, Alameda Point was subject to extensive toxic industrial dumping, but fortunately, cleanup efforts are winding down and we are now seeking to utilize this important space environmentally and economically. We are looking closely at a variety of mixed-use development in the area, including green industry, preserving natural habitats for endangered species, transportation oriented development, light industry, high technology businesses, and creating low and middle income residences for a living-working environment. However, many important issues must be reviewed before we allow residential construction to proceed.

2) We must continue to cut our GHG emissions through a concerted regional effort within transportation and land use planning as well as power generation. I am the City of Alameda’s representative on the Alameda County Transportation Commission, and am also involved in the development of the Alameda Countywide Transportation Plan.

3) Rising sea levels will place major infrastructure such as Oakland International Airport and the EBMUD’s treatment plant at a serious risk and also pose significant threats to the people of the district. Local studies have asserted potential increases in sea level in excess of one foot within the next several decades, and we cannot ignore the associated risks.

Affordable housing

I support the development and creation of affordable housing in the district and in California. This is something that has become even more challenging given the abolishment of Redevelopment Agencies. However, there are legislative proposals that can help remedy this. In addition, in the district we must be attentive to the regional jobs housing balance and the provision of affordable housing for those who cannot afford to pay market rate rents (mixed-income housing, including low-income housing). The Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) numbers for the Bay Area provide guidance on what must be done to provide adequate affordable housing in the district.

Reproductive rights

I unequivocally support women’s rights to unrestricted reproductive self- determination. In recent years, there has been an orchestrated effort to chip away women’s right to reproductive choice by dividing the issue into sub-issues including parental and spousal consent or notification, third-term abortions, and public funding of family planning and abortion. I strongly oppose these efforts.

Quality public transportation

I am the City of Alameda’s representative on the Alameda County Transportation Commission. We are currently poised to consider a Transportation Expenditure Plan (TEP) that will serve as the basis for an extension and augmentation of the current 1⁄2 cent sales tax (Measure B) to a full cent sales tax that is planned to go on the ballot in November (Measure B3). As part of this effort, I, along with a coalition of transportation advocates, including the Sierra Club and Transform, and elected officials from North Alameda County have been pushing to increase the support in the TEP for public transit, including AC Transit. As part of this effort, we are pushing for a funded youth bus pass. I am also involved in the development of the Alameda Countywide Transportation Plan, a long-range policy document that guides transportation funding decisions for Alameda County’s transportation system over a 25-year horizon. The CWTP lays out a strategy for meeting transportation needs for all users in Alameda County and includes projects, programs, and improvements for: new and existing freeways, local streets and roads, public transit (paratransit, buses, rails, ferries), as well as facilities and programs to support bicycling and walking.

Sustainable local economies

We must generate more revenue to adequately fund the various critical services provided by the state, which in turn will help our local economies become sustainable. There are three possible ways to do this: (1) a bipartisan solution; (2) a political solution; or (3) a legislative solution. A bipartisan solution is unlikely given current Republican “no tax” pledges. The political solution: Democrats can identify a couple of formerly red districts and turn them blue in order to achieve the 2/3 threshold. The legislative solution: Pass the other half of Proposition 25 by making revenue increases subject to a simple majority (or lower supermajority) vote of the legislature). Once increasing revenue is possible, we can explore numerous revenue options, including an oil excise tax, a split-roll property tax, a personal income tax on the very wealthy, and an increased sales tax.

We must also promote sustainable local economic development. As the Vice Mayor of Alameda and Chair of the City’s Economic Development Commission, I have worked to cultivate economic growth in an environmentally-responsible way. The VF Outdoor project at Harbor Bay Business Park is a good example of development that makes both economic and environmental sense.

Alameda has attracted VF Outdoor (The North Face, JanSport, Eagle Creek, etc.) to relocate their corporate headquarters to Harbor Bay Business Park. VF Outdoor will construct a new five-building campus that is LEED Gold certified and complete with renewable energy integrated in the campus design.. It will generate $3M in tax revenues over 12 years and another $3M in AMP commercial rate energy payments. It will become one of the highest property tax sources in the City (and one of the largest private employers in Alameda with 650 jobs). It will serve as a catalyst for additional quality development by attracting other high quality companies.