Notes from California Assemblyman Ken Cooley's Community Coffee, July 8th 2017





I went to  Ken Cooley's Community Coffee event last Saturday, July 8th, 2017, to see what concerns were being raised, and to hear what Mr. Cooley had to say to his constituents.  Ken Cooley is the Democratic Ca State Assembly Member for the 8th district, which spans Citrus Heights, Rancho Cordova, and Rancho Murieta. (Map).  

Citizens raised a number of issues: Support for Single Payer for California (SB562), Opposition to building more Cellular Wi-Fi towers(SB 649), Getting Big Money out of Politics (e.g. Move to Amend), Help for homelessness and Mental Health support, and several others.

Through his responses, Mr Cooley revealed himself to be a wonky politician, that attempts to work within the existing system to attempt to effect changes.  This approach did not necessarily satisfy the constituents that were there seeking more radical reforms in the face of continued increases in health care costs, declining education and infrastructure system.   These issues are a microcosm of the issues being addressed by the lndivisible movement.

The question I have been thinking about lately is: do we seek to work within the existing systems, or do we seek more radical changes?   Several people pointed out that the current Democratic Party infrastructure is not capturing hearts and minds with these kinds of wonky, incremental approaches.  Personally, I feel the latter to be true: We need bold approaches that lead to real solutions in a matter of months or years, not decades. 

Following are my notes on specific issues raised. 

  • Support for Single Payer for California: There was a lot of discussion regarding the recently tabled SB562 (Single payer for California), with constituents asking for 'health care as a right', and NOT 'health insurance'.

    Mr. Cooley's response was basically, "It's very complicated'.  He mentioned California is already a leader through the way we have implemented the Affordable Care Act.  He also pointed out the huge cost estimates for the bill ($400 billion), 2x the existing budget for the entire state, coupled with the lack of implementation details, and suggested that it was not really a law that could be implemented.    He said that to actually implement such a thing would require lots of analysis as to the long term funding implications, and that usually a law that wants to implement such sweeping changes would begin by providing for a new state agency that would study the financial implications in detail.

    It was clear to me that a large contingent of people present want to see SB 562 debated publicly, and passed. Mr. Cooley was asked several times if he supported the bill (not really), if he supported health care as a right (I don't disagree), or if he had suggestions for an approach that would work (I do not, this is not my primary area).    I understand his assertions that it is very complicated, and that the wheels of government are  difficult to get moving.  This was not really a satisfactory answer for the crowd.

    Mr. Cooley offered an example from his own past of how the needle actually gets moved in today's government:  He discussed the introduction of seatbelt laws, and that there was opposition to that, so they begin by making it OK to issue a seatbelt citation as a secondary reason (e.g. you were stopped for a taillight, but not wearing a seatbelt).  This allowed the law to get passed. Then, they obtained data that seatbelts saved lives because of increased compliance. Later, they were able to pass more stringent laws.  His point was that it's very difficult to change our legal infrastructure, and may take years.
      
  • Opposition for SB 649, a bill aiming to build out significant new wireless infrastructure was opposed by a group in attendance due to concerns that the radiaton from wireless towers may cause cancer.

    There were several people in attendance expressing concern about a new plan to build more cellular and wi fi towers.   There was a physician saying she sees more cancers in children and young adults who felt that wireless radiation was a cause.

    Personally, I feel that this is a difficult question to answer, whether these correlation of exposure to wireless radiation over many years can cause cancer.  The group circulated a flyer with several references.
  • Big Money out of Politics: A number of people raised the Move to amend issue, aimed at establishing free speech as a right of individuals, not corporations.

    Mr. Cooley did not disagree.  The crowd voiced significant approval.
    This issue is at the root of so many of the things that are not going well for the citizens of this country:  In order to get elected, politicians need money, and the easiest place to get money is corporations. This leads to laws that benefit corporations, not people.
     
  • Homelessness and Mental Health:  . Mr. Cooley was asked what he was doing in the face of rising rents and increased homelessness.

    Mr. Cooley gave some good answers here.  He stated that he is aware that not all available mental health dollars are currently being spent, and that he sponsored a bill last year to help make that information publicly available.  Unfortunately that bill was tabled in the Senate.

    He also stated that he supports "Housing First" approaches, coupled with mental health and other support services being offered, and that There is currently 75 units of Rapid Residency housing being offered for homeless veterans in Rancho Cordova, and 75 more or so planned in the near future.

    Housing first is widely seen as the most effective solution to homelessness, and is also ultimately very cost effective when compared to incarcerating or hospitalizing the homeless.  Mr. Cooley is on the right track here. 
  • Why did Mr. Cooley vote for the recent increase in gas taxes?
    Again, he gave a wonky answer, and again, a pretty good one.  He pointed out that roads are used by everyone, a basic infrastructure need.  Because of increased gas mileage requirements, the rise of electric and hybrid vehicles, the revenue available for traffic infrastructure has remained flat.   He expects the increase to fund real projects soon, and said that if it doesn't\, we should kick him out of office.

    It was pointed out that this infrastructure argument can also apply to healthcare: it benefits all.



  • Does Mr Cooley Support Bail Reform, so that lower income people can have the same opportunity to be released to await trial as wealthy people.
    Some background here;
    http://www.latimes.com/politics/essential/la-pol-ca-essential-politics-updates-legislation-to-overhaul-bail-reform-in-1496385464-htmlstory.html

    Mr. Cooley stated that he did not support the legislation in it's current form, because it involved the creation of an agency to evaluate whether a person is likely to appear for trial if released, and that this costs money which is not available, and he was unsure whether it would work.

    The questioner stated that this system was in use in Santa Barbara (i think), and was working very well. 

Coda:
All in all, I think Ken Cooley is aiming in the right direction, and is accomplishing things within our existing framework that are helpful.   Also, I appreciate his willingness to come and listen to his constituency, some of whom were obviously frustrated and slightly combative.

We need to ask ourselves how we can accomplish more than just incremental improvements. Who has the vision to lead us to a place where we can preserve our environment, educate and care for all of our citizens, provide healthy food and infrastructure for ourselves?  We put a man on the moon, this should be doable!

Getting big money out of politics is probably an important place to start.

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